Wednesday, January 09, 2008
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Rudy's New Tax Plan Unveiled
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Posted by:
Matt Lewis at
1:02 PM
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As Rudy's campaign manager told me the other day in New Hampshire, Rudy Giuliani has a strategy to stay relevant between now and February 5th. Today he unveils his tax plan -- and boy what a plan it is!
Here are a few of the things Rudy's plan would do:
... Make permanent the bush tax cuts NOW…not in 2010
... Permanently index the alternative minimum tax (AMT) and then eliminate it when practical (no timetable).
... Get rid of the Death Tax
... Lower the capitol gains and dividend rate to 10% and index to inflation. (Here is where he could go further and actually eliminate the capitol gains tax).
... Lower corporate tax rate from 35% to 25%.
... Trio of tax free savings accounts – Roth style – available to ALL income classes.
... Tax simplication strategy – one page tax return
... Three rates – 10% (40k), 15% (150k), and 30% (150k ).
It’s an optional tax plan. You can pick it or the current tax code. Unlike Thompson plan, you can opt in and out any year. For major deduction remain:
- Mortgage
- Charitable
- State and Local taxes
- Child tax credit
According to one economic expert I talked to: "This plan would be huge. It would be 4% of GDP. By comparison, GWB tax cut was 1.3% of GDP. Reagan’s was 1.9% of GDP."
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http://www.fairtax.org.....People, do a little research....really worth studying...I think it would be wonderful.
http://www.mikehuckabee.com
http://www.fairtax.org |
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The fairtaxers are as annoying as the PaulBots.
The FairTax is a stupid idea, and the Huckster only started talking about it because his tax record in AK is a disaster, and this is a way to distract people. It appears to be working. |
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No wonder you guys are going to lose the election. |
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What conservatives need to understand is that while it's proven and true that tax cuts like the Reagan and Bush tax cuts and this one proposed by Giuliani do improve the economy - the same improvement in the economy RESULTS IN FAR GREATER REVENUES for the Gov't - everyone knows that - but the connection that isn't being made is that INCREASED TAX REVENUES ARE LIKE WELFARE ENTITLEMENTS FOR THE GOV'T they redistribute wealth & reward the Gov't for the production & work of the private sector. Increased revenues also facilitate greater spending by the gov't and by default further the size and scope of gov't control while limiting the freedom of individuals and business.
The FairTax OTOH limits the power of Gov't responsibly, it's revenue neutral, creates some indirect accountability, and increases the freedom of citizens & businesses alike empowering & encouraging them to succeed. What is the incentive to move up in tax brackets if the Gov't is only going to take a greater percentage the more successful one becomes?
Giuliani's tax plan outlined above promotes a 3 class society because it punishes upward mobility. People making less than $40k get socked with a 50% tax increase if they start making $50 grand, Upper middle class get a 100% tax increase if they go from making $140k to $155k a year yet it still allows the rich get indefinitely richer and keeps the middle class right where they are and the poor remain dependent upon the gov't or charity. That is NOT FAIR, NOT AMERICAN, and NOT CONSERVATIVE! Think people, think!
Which plan is best for all Americans? There is NO COMPARISION that plan sucks and the FairTax rocks. Gov Huckabee strongly supports the FairTax.
http://www.FairTax.org |
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1.) Making Bush tax cuts permanent now rather than in 2010 when they expire is silly it makes no practical difference - they will still be made permanent.
2.) Huckabee also proposes eliminating the death tax (FairTax).
3.) Huckabee proposes ELIMINATING the capital gains tax altogether (FairTax) Giuliani proposes only reducing it.
4.) Again the FairTax ELIMINATES the Corporate tax rate Giuliani only proposes cutting it.
5.) The FairTax does not tax interest income earned on any accounts, Roth IRA's or otherwise. There is no punishment for saving and no entitlement benefit for the Fed Gov't to take a portion of the money you earn by saving or investing.
6.) Tax simplification the FairTax = no tax return (zero pages), no filing, no audits, no privacy invasion or theft by the IRS or Fed Gov't. This means a REAL CHANGE in your freedom, and a REAL CHANGE that limits the size and scope of Gov't.
7.) NO INCOME TAX RATE AT ALL. None, zip, nada. No punishment for being productive and no entitlement for the Fed Gov't to earn a percentage from your hard work. A simple consumption tax covers the Government's needs, pays for social security, medicaid and medicare.
http://www.fairtax.org |
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I can tell from your post that you have not read the book. tell you what I will happily purchase it and the upcoming book for you. Just tell where I should send it...
BTW. He is talking tax reform. What about reducng spending? Oh, wait, never mind. |
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Rudy steals Freds plan and we are supposed to say "wow, this guy is brilliant".
Not so fast Rudy, you still have to get past the city slicker image that won't play in fly-over country.
To simplify things for all of you.... RuDy is a RINO!!! |
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The FairTax will not work. Some good reasons are listed in yesterday's WSJ:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119975825638773747.html
Some of the reasons include:
-cheating, just like there is now with income tax
-black market
-business to business transactions would be messy
-some businesses, like financial firms, would pay nothing
-no deductions for sensible things (like tuition, donations)
-etc.
The FairTax is just Huckabee's attempt at pleasing the masses. There is NO WAY that Huck would ever be able to get it passed and he knows that.
A Flat Tax or flatter tax, like what Rudy's proposed, would be better. That way there can still be sensible deductions. I just think Rudy's is going a bit too far -- unless he can couple it with reduced spending. Then he would be THE MAN. Unfortunately, I think that would be hard for him. |
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Everyone is coming up with their own ideas on 'tax reform' that does nothing but put a band-aid on it. If Rudy hasn't read the FairTax legislation (HR 25), 'The FairTax Book,' and soon to be released 'FairTax: The Truth: Answering the Critics,' I will happily buy them and send them. The legislation is a mere 133 pages. The current tax law is over 10,000 pages, and getting longer everyday (there are on average two changes per day to the tax law since the Tax Reform Act of 1986. That's a ballpark figure fo 15,330.) Rudy's idea just adds more to it. Lets not fix it, lets just junk it... |
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The Giuliani campaign talked about earning media prior to Florida with policy announcenements. If they keep this up their strategy could work. |
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Blake I am not going to call you a liberal. Spending cuts are important and I would love to see the Government make drastic spending cuts. The US government spends almost $3 trillion of our tax dollars. Ironically whenever there is a proposed tax cut the liberals cry "how are we going to pay for it," when they never ask a family of four making $50k how are they going to afford a tax increase.
Spending cuts are important, but tax cuts are more important when it comes to stimulating the economy.
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With you 100%. Anyone who wants to be a media hero, or at least garner a little media attention, starts in with the tax-cut routine.
Spending cuts are what we need. We need spending cuts at everyone level of government, IMO -- federal, state and local. The first thing everyone in this country needs to do is learn to support himself and his family -- not each other. Thanks to government interfere, that's might hard to do. |
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In response to Rashum:
Tax cuts only lead to economic growth to a certain extent. Does the "4% of GDP" mean that tax cuts, assuming no growth, would be equivalent to 4% of GDP? If so, that's a bit worrisome. The economy rarely grows faster than 3%, so it appears that the tax revenues may not keep up with the cut, even if GDP grew 4-5% (which I doubt would happen).
Plus, Rudy is also proposing huge increases in military spending.
Before you call me a liberal, I'm fine with tax cuts and increases in military, but what govt spending is he going to cut to compensate? The last thing we need is more debt. Has he suggested any cuts in spending? |
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I like all of his tax cut ideas!
Of course now the liberals and Dems are going to say how are we going to pay for it, forgetting that tax cuts lead to economic growth which leads to more tax revenues. |
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