By Steven Thomma | McClatchy Newspapers

Throw the flag against: John McCain.

Call: Offside.

What happened: McCain frequently says that Barack Obama would raise tax rates on 23 million small-business people who file tax returns as individuals.

Why that's wrong: "It's a false and preposterously inflated figure," concluded factcheck.org, the nonpartisan watchdog group at the University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg Public Policy Center. Many would pay higher taxes, the group said. But Obama's plan would raise tax rates only for individuals who make more than $200,000 a year and couples that make more than $250,000. That probably comprises fewer than 700,000 people who report business income, according to a study by the Urban Institute-Brookings Tax Policy Center. And not all of them are small-business owners.

Penalty: Set McCain's credibility back 5 yards.

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