Cain And Perry’s Tax Plans Would Disproportionately Hurt Women

GOP presidential candidate Herman Cain has been in hot water in recent weeks over allegations that hesexually harassed or assaulted at least four women in his employ. But it’s not just Cain’s personal behavior that’s hurting women. According to analysis and expert interviews by the American Independent, the tax plans offered by both Cain and Gov. Rick Perry (R-TX)disproportionately disadvantage women:

Thus far, only Cain and Perry have revealed the most detailed plans, and because women are disproportionately likely to be single parents and to have lower wages, smaller pensions and more medical problems, they are expected to fare worse under these plans than their male counterparts. [...]

Cain’s plan would eliminate the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), which is a refundable credit designed to offset federal payroll and income taxes for low- and moderate-income working people…[F]amilies mostly use this tax credit to pay for necessities, home and vehicle repairs and, sometimes, additional education. Cain would also kill the Child Tax Credit (CTC), which helps working families pay for child care costs. [...]

[B]ecause Perry would eliminate the EITC, lower- and middle-income earners would still pay more under his plan than they do now…To pay for the plan, Perry has suggested cuts in education and nutritional programs for poor children.

As ThinkProgress has reported, Cain’s 999 plan is horribly regressive, hiking taxes on lower- and middle class Americans to pay for massive tax cuts for the rich. According to experts, Cain’s plan would affect women worse than the other candidates’ proposals because of its drastic tax hikes on the poor. The American Independent points out that under 999, millionaires would have a 17.9 percent tax rate while a single mother earning between $20,000 and $30,000 would pay a 24.9 percent tax rate.

Terry O’Neill, president of the National Organization for Women, described Cain’s plan as “punishing women who sometimes work two jobs full-time, minimum-wage jobs, just to pay for food and rent.” Joan Entmacher of the National Women’s Law Center added that “the Perry plan is particularly hard on single heads of households. They do worse than the working poor.”