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Flat Tax Unleashes Economic Growth
The Cut, Balance and Grow plan will unleash economic growth
November 1, 2011
About Rick Perry:
Gov. Rick Perry has been governor of Texas since 2000. He is currently running for president. To learn more about Gov. Rick Perry's Cut, Balance and Grow plan, visit www.rickperry.org.
President Obama and other establishment politicians believe Washington can be fixed with a pair of tweezers. I believe it will require a sledgehammer.
Americans suffering in the Obama economy deserve more than lukewarm proposals that tinker around the margins. That is why I have proposed a Cut, Balance and Grow plan that will jolt our economy back to life by cutting taxes and spending, balancing the budget by 2020, and growing private sector jobs.
Central to the plan is giving every American the option of throwing out the 72,000 pages of the current tax code and replacing it with a simple 20 percent flat tax.
I believe Americans will embrace the flat tax for a number of reasons. It cuts taxes for Americans in every income group, increases the standard deduction to $12,500, and retains deductions for mortgage interest, charitable donations, and state and local taxes. It simplifies the filing process, allowing taxpayers to complete their returns in minutes and submit them on a postcard. And it will save Americans up to $483 billion in annual compliance costs.
[See a collection of political cartoons on the budget and deficit.]
My plan also eliminates the death tax, the long-term capital gains tax, and the tax on Social Security benefits.
But most importantly, my plan unleashes economic growth. It not only gives families more money to spend, it provides employers strong incentives to grow and create millions of jobs.
Today, America's corporate tax rate is the second highest in the developed world and it is riddled with loopholes that allow the biggest companies with the best lawyers to avoid paying any taxes whatsoever.
My flat tax proposal ends the gravy train of lobbyists and lawyers feeding at the government trough by eliminating the dozens of carve-outs that disadvantage small businesses. It lowers the tax rate to the average in other developed nations so American employers of all sizes are more competitive in the global marketplace. And it ends the double taxation of profits American companies earn overseas, providing a huge incentive for employers to build new factories and create millions of jobs here at home.
The flat tax I propose, combined with the real spending reductions and a commitment to balance the budget by 2020, will bring sweeping change to Washington's spendthrift culture and get America working again.
- Check out a roundup of editorial cartoons on the economy.
- Read 10 Things You Didn't Know About the Bush Tax Cuts.
- Read how Rick Perry is using the flat tax the boost his campaign.
- Other Arguments
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#112982
Yes — The flat tax saves time, provides choice, and restores fairness to the tax code
MICHAEL C. BURGESS, U.S. Representative
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#211778
Yes — Flat tax makes it more difficult for the government to divide Americans against each other
GROVER NORQUIST, President of Americans for Tax Reform
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#47974
Yes — Flat tax would spur foreign investment, job creation, and economic growth
MARY KATE CARY, Former White House Speechwriter for President George H.W. Bush
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#5104112
No — Flat tax would cut taxes only for the rich, which never ends well
JOHN IRONS, Research and Policy Director at the Economic Policy Institute
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#687104
No — The middle class pays more so the rich can pay less
DEAN BAKER, Author of 'The End of Loser Liberalism: Making Markets Progressive'
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#77096
No — A flat tax doesn't solve our problems; it just introduces new ones
KELLY PHILLIPS ERB, Author of Taxgirl Blog at Forbes.com
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#87198
No — Flat tax will benefit only the richest taxpayers
STEVE WAMHOFF, Legislative Director of Citizens for Tax Justice
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#974102
No — Flat tax shifts burden to low- and middle-income taxpayers
CHARLES B. RANGEL, U.S. Representative
