Brown, Warren Spar Over Federal Tax Policy

Democratic challenger Elizabeth Warren is defending herself against charges from Republican U.S. Sen. Scott Brown that she is, in Brown's words, a "jobs destroyer."

Brown told the South Shore Chamber of Commerce Tuesday Warren believes businesses should pay higher taxes. It's something he says regularly at Chamber of Commerce events around the state, and he gets loud applause for it.

Meeting supporters at a pub in Dorchester, Warren tried to tie Brown to Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, and his running mate, Paul Ryan.

"So we're seeing two very different visions for how America goes forward," Warren said. "Scott Brown, Romney and Ryan believe protect those at the top. Give them the biggest breaks, and it's all going to work out."

Brown accuses Warren of wanting to raise taxes by $3.4 trillion over the next 10 years.

Warren says Brown's claim doesn't make sense.

But Brown's campaign did release a list of tax increases it imputes to Warren that do add up to $3.4 trillion over ten years. The largest of these comes from a speech Warren gave at the Blackstone Valley Chamber of Commerce last year, in which she argued that if the $106,800 income cap on Social Security taxes is eliminated, the program could pay for itself in perpetuity.

The Brown campaign points to a report from the Congressional Research Service that calculates that if the cap on income is eliminated, Social Security taxes would raise $1 trillion over the next 10 years.

More: