On Taxes

Of the candidates, Fred Thompson has the most aggressive most workable solution to get the federal government off of the backs of taxpayers. He calls for making the Bush tax cuts permanent, ending the death tax, killing the Alternative Minimum Tax, a reduction in the corporate tax structure from 35 -25% and a simplified voluntary two tier flat tax arrangement. Under Thompson’s tax plan, joint filers making $100,000 or less or singles making $50,000 or less would pay 10%. Anyone over the $100,000/$50,000 thresholds would pay 25%. Taxpayers would get an automatic standard deduction of $25,000 or $12,500 as well as a personal exemption of $3,500. Based on these figure a family of four making $39,000 or less would pay no federal income tax. The voluntary part comes in when Thompson allows the taxpayer to choose between his new plan and the existing 300,000 pages of federal tax law. Thompson gets a 9.


The Giuliani tax plan is similar to Thompson’s:
The Giuliani tax cut plan would extend the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts immediately; eliminate the Death Tax completely; lower the capital gains and dividends tax rate to 10% and index capital gains to inflation; lower the corporate tax rate from 35% to 25%; and permanently index the Alternative Minimum Tax to inflation with a plan for eventual elimination. The Giuliani tax cut plan also contains a particularly bold pro-growth tax simplification strategy that would give taxpayers the option of opting into a simple tax plan in which their taxes could be done on one page. Instead of the current tax behemoth, the voluntary tax plan would constitute across the board cuts in marginal tax rates by proposing three simple rates of 10%, 15%, and 30%. Rudy gets an 8.

Romney like Giuliani has a good track record on taxes. Romney’s tax plan has the same boilerplate stuff as Thompson’s and Giuliani’s but has the added advantage a of zero tax on capital gains. The big draw back is its lack of simplification of the overall code. Mitt gets a 6.

Huckabee is next. He proposes a fair tax or national consumption or sales tax of - depending on who you read - between 23 and 25%. Of course certain life sustaining products like food would be exempt. This is the best form of taxation because it puts the tax payer in the position of determining how much federal tax he is willing to pay. If he wants a new car but determines that the 23% surcharge is out of the question for the time being, he just doesn’t buy the car. The income tax is ripped from your wallet whether you think you can afford it or not. The problem with the fair tax is that it will first require the repeal of the Sixteenth Amendment, which gives the government the right to tax income. That in itself would be a long and arduous process. Given government ineptitude, what would likely result is both a consumption and an income tax. I like the fair tax but its implementation strikes me this way:

I need a quart of milk one night.

Fred Thompson says, OK, I’ll run over to Walgreen’s and get you one. I’ll be back in ten minutes.

Mike Huckabee says, you know the best milk is over in Switzerland. I’ll plan a trip to Switzerland. I’ll get a taxi. Go to the airport. Hop a flight to Switzerland. Get a hotel room. Take a couple of days sightseeing. Buy the best milk available. Hop a flight back. Get a taxi and deliver your milk in about a month. The milk will of course be sour by the time the trip is complete.

Huckabee’s idea gets a 10 but Huckabee gets a 2 because the plan is not workable. And me being ever the cynic, believe he wants something that sounds good but is totally unworkable so that the status quo remains in place. And then there’s his tax record in Arkansas, which ain’t good and is why I remain a cynic about Huckabee.

Then there’s John I voted against the tax cuts because they weren’t perfect McCain. That is leatherhead, my way or the highway thinking typical of McCain. I didn’t get the spending cuts, so I’m not voting for the tax cuts. Weird huh. So when the single pump fire truck shows up to put out McCain’s house fire, he’s going to send them away because he didn’t get the four battalions of fire equipment he had requested. McCain gets a -4. Not only for being wrong about the Bush tax cuts but for being too stupid or too stubborn and arrogant to admit it.

All the Dems are going to start off by taxing us into a depression. The Shrillda Beats is our best bet on the Dem side because she has no core beliefs and will be the same poll driven triangulating calculating dope that her husband was.