Study: Mitt Romney's tax plan could save millionaires $87,000 and raise taxes on the middle class

From the Miami Herald: MH

The nonpartisan Tax Policy Center produced an analysis that incorporates Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney's plan and has concluded that it could save the rich lots of money and actually cost other taxpayers a little bit more.

Romney wants to slash income tax rates by 20 percent for all taxpayers. And, because the rich pay more in taxes, they would therefore save more. But, in order to ensure that the plan doesn't increase the budget deficit and national debt, Romney says he wants to eliminate tax breaks. But he hasn't named them.

But most of the big-dollar tax breaks disproportionately help the middle class who get write-offs for, say, employer-provided health insurance, state and local taxes or mortgage interest.

Eliminate or seriously cut back those subsidies and it could cost people more money in the end, the report showed, even though it intentionally biased its assumptions in Romney's favor.

So a person with taxable income of $50,000-$75,000 would see an average net tax increase of $641 (saving $984 from Romney's policies, but losing $2,672 from the elimination of tax write-offs and subsidies).

A person with a $1 million or more taxable income would see an average net tax decrease of $87,117 (saving $175,961 from Romney's policies, while losing $88,444). The numbers are contained in the graphic above.