FDT Tax Reform

[Fiery Red XIII]

http://www.fred08.com/NewsRoom/InTheNew ... 3916e01eeb
Text:
Thompson proposes tiered flat tax rate
Washington Times, A1


Sean Lengell

By Sean Lengell - Republican presidential candidate Fred Thompson yesterday announced a plan to overhaul the federal tax code with a two-tier flat-rate system that he says will simplify taxes for tens of millions of Americans.

His proposal contains two tax rates: 10 percent for joint filers with income of up to $100,000 and $50,000 for singles; and 25 percent on incomes above these amounts.

"It would be a major move toward tax reform, which I think is greatly needed," said Mr. Thompson, who introduced his plan on "Fox News Sunday."

The standard deduction under the plan would be more than doubled to $25,000 for joint filers and $12,500 for singles, while the personal exemption amount would be increased to $3,500. That means that a family of four would be exempt from income tax on the first $39,000 of income.

Mr. Thompson's proposal contains no other tax credits or deductions and would retain the 15 percent tax rate on capital gains and dividends.

The plan, based on a proposal from the House Republican Study Committee, also would give taxpayers the option of remaining under the current tax code.

Mr. Thompson also calls for permanently extending tax cuts enacted by President Bush in 2001 and 2003 that are set to expire at the end of 2010. Republican presidential candidates Rudolph W. Giuliani, Mitt Romney and John McCain said they also would extend the tax cuts.

The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that it would cost the government $2.3 trillion from 2008 through 2017 if the expiring cuts were extended.

But Mr. Thompson says the cuts have been critical in reviving the U.S. economy after the September 2001 terrorist attacks, the downturn in the housing market and other economic challenges during the past six years.

The former senator from Tennessee also calls for gradually eliminating the alternative minimum tax, which was created 30 years ago to ensure that a handful of high-income taxpayers couldn't use deductions and credits to eliminate their tax liability.

Mr. Thompson says he would index the exemptions annually so that millions of middle-class families would not be subject to the tax.

"We've known for years any time we have lowered taxes, any time we've lowered tax rates, we've seen growth in the economy," he said. "Growth is the fundamental underlying factor that we have to maintain in order to be able to generate the additional tax revenue that we're going to need in order to be fair to the American people."

His also proposes reducing the top corporate tax rate from 35 percent to no more than 27 percent and permanently extending small-business expensing of equipment and other small-business items.

Mr. Thompson brushed aside criticism that the cuts would drain the government of needed resources, saying experts "always overestimate the losses to the government" when taxes are cut.

This article is based in part on wire service reports.

------------
Red

[DeanC]

Mr. Thompson's proposal contains no other tax credits or deductions

Oh the charities will howl... which is fine with me. Let's see how dedicated your donors really are to your cause.

[hammAR]

Good bye NPR and PBS.......................

.

[mnglocker]

Good bye NPR and PBS.......................

.

Amen.


<---Talks for a living.

[DeanC]

Good bye NPR and PBS.......................

I thought that a small portion of their operating budget was provided by individuals. They get the big government handouts and all that foundation money.