GOP Presidential Candidates Answer Tax Question

At Thursday’s GOP "debate," moderator Chris Matthews of MSNBC asked the ten Republican candidates to each "mention a tax you'd like to cut, in addition to the Bush tax cuts, keeping them in effect." Results follow:

Gov. Mitt Romney: "I'd like middle-income Americans to be able to save their money and not have to pay any tax at all on interest, dividends, or capital gains. And by the way..." Matthews: "A zero rate on capital gains?" Romney: "A zero rate on capital gains for middle-income Americans. And by the way, we're all talking about how anxious we are to veto overspending. I was a Governor; I've done it hundreds of times. I can't wait to get my hands on Washington's budget."

Sen. Sam Brownback: "I'd put forward an alternative flat tax and allow people to choose between the current tax code and system which doesn't work which ought to be taken behind the barn and killed with a dull ax, and an alternate flat tax, and let them choose."

Gov. Jim Gilmore: "You know Chris, I've been a Governor of Virginia. I ran on a tax cut proposal and I ran on eliminating a car tax in Virginia. I received terrific opposition to doing that. I kept my word, I kept my promise, and we eliminated that car tax. Now, the question is, who is actually going to do what they say they're going to do? Where you have been is where you are going to go, and I have actually lived up to my word. And the answer is the Alternative Minimum Tax, which is continuing to drive people in the middle class into higher and higher taxation."

Gov. Mike Huckabee: "I cut taxes 94 times as Governor, but I realize tinkering with it doesn't work. I'd overhaul it. I would work for the Fair Tax, which meets the four criteria: Flatter, fairer, finite, and family-friendly. We'd get rid of the IRS. We'd get rid of all capital gains, income, corporate, and we'd have a consumption tax. The Fair Tax proposal I believe offers the best opportunity for all levels of Americans."

Rep. Duncan Hunter: "Right now our manufacturers are getting killed. We're seeing manufacturing move offshore because a dumb trade deal that we signed with the rest of the world allows all of our exports to be taxed twice while their exports to us are not taxed at all. The only way we can come close to leveling that playing field is to eliminate manufacturing taxes. So eliminate all taxes on Americans who will stay in the United States and make products and hire American workers."

Gov. Tommy Thompson: "I'm excited about this question because as Governor of Wisconsin I vetoed 1900 items, 1900 times, reduced taxes 16.4 billion dollars. I think the biggest problem we got in America is the Alternative Minimum Tax; it's bringing more middle-income people in. Let's put it in, let's have the people have a flat tax, and have the option of paying whichever is least."

Sen. John McCain: "I'd give the President of the United States the line-item veto on these bills as well as spending bills. The Alternative Minimum Tax is obviously eating Americans alive and that's got to be repealed. Another one I think is important is a $3,000 tax credit for people to be able to purchase health insurance, so low-income Americans will have access to health care which is an amazing and difficult problem today, and a simple, flatter, fairer tax so that Americans don't have to spend $140 billion as they just did last April to prepare their tax returns."

Rep. Ron Paul: "In my first week I already got rid of the income tax so my second week I'd get rid of the inflation tax, it's a tax that nobody talks about. We live way beyond our means, with a foreign policy we can't afford and an entitlement system that we have encouraged. We print money for it, the value of the money goes down, and poor people pay higher prices. That is a tax. It's a transfer of wealth from the poor and the middle class to Wall Street. Wall Street's doing quite well, but the inflation tax is eating away at the middle class of this country. We need to get rid of the inflation tax with sound money."

Rudolph Giuliani: "We have to adjust the AMT, that has to be reduced. We have to get rid of the Death Tax, which is gonna go to zero in 2010, which is going to create an incentive, I can't imagine what kind of incentive it's gonna create, it's going to go to zero in 2010 and in 2011 it's gonna go to 55 percent, and we have to make sure that the tax cuts that went into effect, that that level remains otherwise we're gonna have one of the biggest tax increases in history in 2011. And I would look to try to regularize the rates and look for some marginal reduction even beyond what we're doing right now."

Rep. Tom Tancredo: "For all the reasons mentioned by some of my colleagues I absolutely support the Fair Tax, it has to be accompanied however with the repeal of the 16th Amendment or we'd end up with a consumption tax and an income tax. And all this talk about vetoing spending bills and how that's going to solve our problem, let me tell you my friends, you can veto all the spending bills you want, you will not touch the deficit until you actually deal with the structural problem of mandatory spending. That's where all the money is. You can veto every one of the bills that come to you as discretionary funding including the military if you want. It is in fact mandatory spending that has to be dealt with."

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Tags: Election 2008, debate, GOP, income tax, increased taxes, presidential candidate To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!