Fox News contributor Deneen Borelli stated on Fox & Friends that “you wouldn't have all these people in the streets across the country, you know, criticizing President Obama because he cut taxes. He indeed has not cut taxes,” adding that the Obama administration is “above and beyond what reality is right now.” In fact, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act included $288 billion in tax relief for individuals and businesses.
Alternate reality: Fox News disputes fact of Obama tax cuts
Written by Jocelyn Fong
Published
Fox News' Borelli: Obama “has not cut taxes”
From the April 16 edition of Fox News' Fox & Friends:
BRIAN KILMEADE (co-host): Essentially, the president of the United States, without a smile on his face, said you think I would be thanked, why would these tea party protesters -- I've cut taxes. You say he has not cut taxes. What's the truth?
BORELLI: Well, the truth is you wouldn't have all these people in the streets across the country, you know, criticizing President Obama because he cut taxes. He indeed has not cut taxes. We had a health care bill that was rammed through through backdoor deals. I met a doctor yesterday from Tennessee -- him and his entire family. He and his friends -- they're all very upset and concerned and worried. Some of them are actually going to drop out of the profession.
So, clearly, they are -- President Obama and the administration is not intuned with the concerns that the American people are about. I think they need to attend a tea party rally and really hear what's going on, because they are above and above -- above and beyond what reality is right now.
FACT: The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act included $288 billion in tax relief
Recovery act included significant tax relief for individuals, families, and businesses. As Media Matters for America has noted, the recovery act contained $288 billion in tax relief, including the Making Work Pay tax credit, a two-year annual credit of $400 per individual or $800 for families. In addition, the recovery act included a temporary increase in the earned income tax credit, a temporary increase in the refundable portion of the child tax credit, an increase in the first-time homebuyer tax credit, and tax incentives for businesses, among others.
CBS: “Poll Reveals Most Americans Don't Know They Got a Tax Cut.” A February 5-10 New York Times/CBS News poll found that only 12 percent of respondents “think the Obama Administration has ... decreased taxes for most Americans.” CBS News wrote that "[o]f people who support the grassroots, 'Tea Party' movement, only 2 percent think taxes have been decreased, 46 percent say taxes are the same, and a whopping 44 percent say they believe taxes have gone up." Media Matters has noted that conservative media figures including Steve Moore of The Wall Street Journal, columnist S.E. Cupp, and Fox Forum columnist Peter Roff have denied that Obama cut taxes.