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With Rick Santorum surging in Iowa, it is a good time to take a look at his tax agenda. While his revenue plan has received almost no attention, it plays a major role in his “faith, family and freedom” campaign. His playbook: lower rates for individuals and corporations, substantially cut taxes on capital, and increase the personal exemption for dependent children.
The Tax Policy Center has not yet formally modeled the former Pennsylvania senator’s tax platform. However, because it cuts rates significantly but does not eliminate tax preferences—and even expands a few—it would very likely add trillions of dollars to the federal deficit. Looked at from that prism, it is not so different from the ideas raised by most of his GOP rivals.
Santorum’s plan cleverly melds the interests of social conservatives and business. This should play well in future GOP primaries. If he somehow gets the nomination, he’ll still have to explain the huge hole he’d blow in the budget. But I don’t suppose he’s much worried about that now.
Rick Santorum's Tax Plan Would Blow A Huge Hole In The Budget ...
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This article is actually from Forbes, but could not get source to take in edit. Sorry.
However, this article does show us Santorum's plans as put forth thus far. Of course, subject to change at any time.
Peace
- 1 vote
#1 - Tue Jan 3, 2012 7:34 PM ESTAnd to think that these people are even close to a fiscally responsible party is just plain silly if it wasn't so @!$%#ing sad.
What a clueless idiot.
- 1 vote
I'm not impressed.
Corporations should have an 80% dividend deduction, in effect nearly eliminating the corporate income tax, which is why they offshored the money in the first place. However, the corporations AND businesses should have their tax rates increased with a credit for ensuring the bottom 1/2 of their employees (domestically) are paid 3 times minimum wage and are providing at least 75% of employees' individual health care coverage.
Having prepared tax returns for the past 30 years, the only thing that should be done with alt min tax... inflation index the bases and amounts.
The reason why so many middle class individuals get hit with alt min is the state tax deduction. This wouldn't be an issue if the bases were inflation adjusted.
Capital gains tax should be increased to 20%, to make up for the loss of corporate income taxes listed in my idea above and to assist funding for employers that do NOT support their employees well.
- 1 vote
#2 - Tue Jan 3, 2012 9:53 PM ESTmost capital gains taxes are on stock market transactions, very little of it is on other business or personal transactions. To have the capital gains tax rate lower than the straight income tax rate just discourages in job creation. If, in order to spur the job creation aspects of a CG deduction, a further 'credit' or deduction is created for certain types of capital gains, I wouldn't have an issue with it, but for the 90% or so of stock market transactions that the CG is applied to (especially the hedge fund loophole), it should be considered straight income.
- 1 vote
Thank you both for the knowledgable and informed options proferred, as seeking and submitting solutions is the only way to hammer out of the current stranglehold against common sense being put forth by our Congressional, Judicial and Executive Branches for the last several decades.
Citizens United being repealed is a must before any other solutions have any chance of inception, let alone consideration. Wish there was some way to formulate a reasonable tax code while still allowing for CG credits upon qualified domestic jobs/wages production? It is not in amy way my area of expertise, that is for sure! But any one can smell a dead rat...and I think we can all smell it!!
I do like your proposal, JayCFO-3768452. Removing loopholes with solid percentages in regard to CG taxes sounds reasonable to explore.
And considering your "90% or so of stock market transactions that the CG is applied to (especially the hedge fund loophole), it should be considered straight income" point makes sense as well, Jonathon.
You both have applicable experience directly related to these issues, so please continue to enlighten others here, as always!
Peace
notso
most of the abuse in the tax system from my experience comes from the use of transfer pricing, which is what is used to shift profits to other lower tax jurisdictions, and as long as the profits are not repatriated, uncle sam never sees it. I am not sure about what a solution for that could be though. Everything that I have thought of would end up creating more problems than a solution.
I am most definitely in favour simplifying the tax code, mostly through removing of industry (and sometimes company) specific deductions and credit. I am not sure if the extra revenue that this would provide would be enough to warrant sifting through 70,000 pages of tax code though. Replacing one industry specific with a general deduction may net more revenue, but how much more?
Capital gains is generally not about job creation. It is about the net difference in price of fixed assets between the time it was purchased and sold. (Inventory is treated differently). So you purchasing a house and selling it at a profit later (yeah I know, but work with me here lol) is a capital gain. But building and selling houses as a business is NOT a capital gain. Now you selling your primary home in my mind is something that you probably should net a capital gain discount, but that can be a legitimate exception to the laws, but churning your money on the stock market is not a legitimate CG rate discount from an economic policy perspective in my mind.
With Citizens United, that is more related to a much broader issue of corruption and graft in the political system and it affects everyone. While I really hate the decision, I do understand the rationale for it. It doesn't have a lot to do with tax policy, but you are right, it is something that needs to be resolved, at least from the point of view of the credibility of our political system.
- 1 vote
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