Taxes: The Pinocchio Test

Did Obama pull a bait-and-switch on tax increases?

By Glenn Kessler, WashPost, Published: December 6 | Updated: Friday, December 7, 5:02 AM

“The proposal calls for $1.6 trillion in new tax revenue, twice the amount you supported during the campaign.” — Dec. 3, 2012 letter signed by House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and other House leaders to President Obama

During the negotiations over the “fiscal cliff,” President Obama has proposed $1.6 trillion in higher taxes over 10 years. House Republicans have countered with $800 billion in new revenue, which in a letter to Obama they said was his proposal in the just-concluded presidential campaign.

From the White House perspective, all Obama did was dust off his tax plans contained in the 2013 budget, submitted earlier this year. That plan contained about $1.9 trillion in tax increases, with about $300 billion in tax cuts, for a net tax increase of nearly $1.6 trillion. The net figure is actually the administration’s goal in these talks.

Republicans argue they hit the target set by Obama during the campaign, while the administration says Republicans are only halfway there. Both sides have good evidence for their case, and we’ve spent several days reviewing campaign speeches, ads and the presidential debates in an effort to come to a conclusion on this matter.

(More here.)