2010 IN Senate Debates: on Tax Reform


Brad Ellsworth: Take away some of the hundreds of tax breaks & exemptions

Viewers learned that Ellsworth and his wife do their own taxes, but that the Democrat believes the tax code needs to be simpler. He said after the debate that Congress needs to consider taking away some of the hundreds of tax breaks, exemptions and other provisions that force small business owners to hire accountants to determine what they owe the government.

Ellsworth said he'd met with advocates for the FairTax, a proposal to essentially wipe out all existing federal taxes and replace them with a 23% sales tax. Individuals and businesses need "to know what to expect for years" from their tax bills, Ellsworth said.

Coats said he's open to the FairTax--but as just one idea among many to explore for making the tax code easier to understand. The tax system needs to be "fairer, flatter, simpler, and there a number of proposals out there that are sensible to take a look at." But Coats said he could not support a value-added tax.

Source: Louisville Courier-Transcript on 2010 Indiana Senate debate Oct 22, 2010

Daniel Coats: Open to the FairTax, but no VAT

Ellsworth said after the debate that Congress needs to consider taking away some of the hundreds of tax breaks, exemptions and other provisions that force small business owners to hire accountants to determine what they owe the government.

Ellsworth said he'd met with advocates for the FairTax, a proposal to essentially wipe out all existing federal taxes and replace them with a 23% sales tax. Individuals and businesses need "to know what to expect for years" from their tax bills, Ellsworth said.

Coats said he's open to the FairTax--but as just one idea among many to explore for making the tax code easier to understand. The tax system needs to be "fairer, flatter, simpler, and there a number of proposals out there that are sensible to take a look at." But Coats said he could not support a value-added tax, a kind of tax common in Europe that taxes products and services at different stages of production.

Source: Louisville Courier-Transcript on 2010 Indiana Senate debate Oct 22, 2010

  • The above quotations are from 2010 Indiana Senate Debates.
  • Click here for definitions & background information on Tax Reform.
  • Click here for other issues (main summary page).
  • Click here for more quotes by Brad Ellsworth on Tax Reform.
  • Click here for more quotes by Daniel Coats on Tax Reform.
Candidates and political leaders on Tax Reform:

Retired Senate as of Jan. 2015:
GA:Chambliss(R)
IA:Harkin(D)
MI:Levin(D)
MT:Baucus(D)
NE:Johanns(R)
OK:Coburn(R)
SD:Johnson(D)
WV:Rockefeller(D)

Resigned from 113th House:
AL-1:Jo Bonner(R)
FL-19:Trey Radel(R)
LA-5:Rod Alexander(R)
MA-5:Ed Markey(D)
MO-9:Jo Ann Emerson(R)
NC-12:Melvin Watt(D)
SC-1:Tim Scott(R) 		Retired House to run for Senate or Governor:
AR-4:Tom Cotton(R)
GA-1:Jack Kingston(R)
GA-10:Paul Broun(R)
GA-11:Phil Gingrey(R)
HI-1:Colleen Hanabusa(D)
IA-1:Bruce Braley(D)
LA-6:Bill Cassidy(R)
ME-2:Mike Michaud(D)
MI-14:Gary Peters(D)
MT-0:Steve Daines(R)
OK-5:James Lankford(R)
PA-13:Allyson Schwartz(D)
TX-36:Steve Stockman(R)
WV-2:Shelley Capito(R) 		Retired House as of Jan. 2015:
AL-6:Spencer Bachus(R)
AR-2:Tim Griffin(R)
CA-11:George Miller(D)
CA-25:Howard McKeon(R)
CA-33:Henry Waxman(D)
CA-45:John Campbell(R)
IA-3:Tom Latham(R)
MN-6:Michele Bachmann(R)
NC-6:Howard Coble(R)
NC-7:Mike McIntyre(D)
NJ-3:Jon Runyan(R)
NY-4:Carolyn McCarthy(D)
NY-21:Bill Owens(D)
PA-6:Jim Gerlach(R)
UT-4:Jim Matheson(D)
VA-8:Jim Moran(D)
VA-10:Frank Wolf(R)
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Page last updated: Dec 03, 2018