Summary of Romney & Gingrich Tax Proposals

As the Republican primary season is in earnest, we've been asked a few times about the difference between the current tax code and the tax proposals by the two current front runners, Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney. The following table gives the key highlights between the two proposals and the current tax code. More detailed information about the proposals can be found at the Tax Policy Center.

Tax Issue	Current Legislation	Gingrich	Romney
Bush Tax Cuts	Expires 2013	Extend	Maintain current rates
Tax Rates and Brackets		Give a choice of current system or a flat 15%	Lower rates in the future
Capital Gains, Dividends, and Interest	15% to ordinary income, depending on nature.	Exempt	Exempt for households with AGI less than $200,000.
Exemptions, Deductions, and Credits	$3,700 exemption per person Child tax credit, mortgage interest, charity Health insurance a pre-tax benefit	Allow $12,000 exemption per person Retain child credit, EITC, and deductions for mortgage interest and charitable contributions Allow tax credit or deduction for health insurance purchased	No short term changes Long run – flatten tax base
AMT	Every year this is typically patched for incomes within a certain AGI.	Repeal if opt into flat tax, otherwise AMT remains
Refundable Credits	No expiration	Retain earned income credit and child tax credit.	Retain
Payroll Tax	Percentage of income goes to government in exchange for a guaranteed future benefit.	Migrate to a self-funded model.	Temporary reduction if properly structured.
Taxes under Affordable Care Act of 2010	Miscellaneous taxes associated with the individual mandate for health care.	Repeal	Repeal
Estate Tax	Set to roll back in 2013 to pre Bush era levels.	Repeal	Repeal