New Obama ad: Romney would raise your taxes to lower his own

A new ad from President Obama’s campaign hits Mitt Romney two ways on taxes, suggesting that the former Massachusetts governor’s tax plan is just a way to help line his own pockets.

First, “Stretch” criticizes Romney for paying a low tax rate.

“You work hard, stretch every penny, but chances are you pay a higher tax rate than him: Mitt Romney made $20 million dollars in 2010, but paid only 14 percent in taxes—probably less than you,” the narrator says.

Our Factchecker disputes that, noting that Romney pays about the same or more than the average taxpayer, depending on whether you include employer contributions. But he pays less than most people in the top 20 percent of income.

Then the ad argues that the candidate’s tax plan would lower rates for millionaires like Romney while raising taxes on the middle class.

“Now he has a plan that will give millionaires another tax break and raises taxes on middle class families by up to $2,000 a year,” the narrator says. “Mitt Romney’s middle class tax increase: he pays less, you pay more.”

A nonpartisan study released Wednesday found that Romney’s plan would cut taxes for the richest 5 percent of Americans while raising taxes on the less well-off. Romney spokesman Ryan Williams dismissed the report as a “false and inaccurate” and said the Republican “would lower tax rates across the board.”

Republicans are likely to label this attack by Obama as “class warfare.” But despite some criticism, Obama’s campaign has shown no reservations about riling up middle-class outrage or tax cuts for the rich — and using Romney as the prime example.

The ad will air in New Hampshire, Virginia, North Carolina, Florida, Ohio, Iowa, Colorado and Nevada.