Fact-checking the new Crossroads GPS ad

Cross Roads GPS, a conservative group, is running a new TV attack ad in Virginia against President Barack Obama.

The one-minute spot accuses Obama of breaking promises. Our colleagues at PolitiFact Florida have examined two of the ad’s claims and we wanted to share their findings. For more information, click on the hyperlinks.

GPS Claim: Obama promised that families earning less than $250,000 a year would not see taxes go up, but “Obamacare” raises 18 different taxes.

The health care reform law did raise taxes. But when PolitiFact examined the issue in January 2011, it found only 13 measures from the measure that could really be considered tax increases.  

What’s more, PolitiFact Florida found only five of the levies apply to individuals making less than $250,000. They include higher federal excise taxes on tobacco, a 10 percent excise tax on indoor tanning services and limiting the amount people can put into their flexible spending accounts — a move that could increase their taxable income.

There is one other item within the law that may or may not qualify as a tax: the mandate that everyone has to have health insurance or pay a penalty. The Supreme Court is considering whether the mandate is constitutional and if it is a tax.

PolitiFact Florida rated the claim Mostly False.

GPS claim: Obama promised to cut the deficit in half by the end of his first term, but he “hasn’t even come close.”

Obama made the promise on Feb. 23, 2009, when the deficit was estimated at $1.3 trillion. This fiscal year, the deficit is projected to be about $1.2 trillion, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

The CBO said that although the deficit has started to shrink, it remains very large by historical standards.

So PolitiFact Florida rated the statement True.