Analysis: Big Tax Hikes in 9-9-9 Plan

Wondering about the attacks on Cain’s 9-9-9 tax plan at last night’s debate? The Tax Policy Center crunched the numbers on Cain’s plan, and found that it would result in a massive tax cut for the wealthiest Americans and a steep hike for everyone else. The plan, a 9 percent tax on income, sales, and businesses, is effectively a 25 percent consumption tax, according to the center. Under it, a middle-income household making between $64,000 and $110,000 would pay $4,300 more in taxes, lowering its after-tax income by 6 percent. A taxpayer in the top 0.1 percent, however, making more than $2.7 million a year, would increase his after-tax income by nearly 27 percent.