Survey of 2016 Presidential campaign websites: on Tax Reform
Darrell Castle:
Apportion federal taxes to states by census, not by income
Q: What is your tax policy?A: I have proposed a taxing system whereby taxes would be apportioned to the states as the census dictates. If my state of Tennessee had two percent of the nation's population, for example, it would be liable for
two percent of the budget. It would be incumbent upon the representatives from Tennessee to help hold down Federal spending. The Federal Government would be encouraged to spend less not more. The states would be empowered and Washington would be
dis-empowered. Washington's hold over the states would be broken and the states would be sovereign again--Washington would have to ask the states for money. States would be free to collect their revenue as they see fit.
Alaska might tax its natural resources and Florida might tax tourism. In Nevada, it would obviously be gambling. Since people could keep their income the economy would explode with growth.
Source: 2016 Presidential campaign website castle2016.com
Oct 9, 2016
Evan McMullin:
Tax code should be lean, simple, and pro-investment
America should be the best place in the world for innovation, entrepreneurship and opportunity. We must reform a system that too often benefits the politically connected and the corporate elite, while leaving too many Americans behind.
Our tax code should be lean, simple and encourage investment here at home. Government regulations should be reduced to foster a dynamic economy.
Source: 2016 presidential campaign website EvanMcMullin.com
Aug 12, 2016
Jill Stein:
Lower taxes for majority by cutting $2.3T military spending
Stein would root out the massive corruption in military spending. A failed attempt to audit the Pentagon during the Clinton administration found that $2.3 trillion of $7 trillion in transactions could not be justified, suggesting that up to 1/3 of DOD
expenses may be due to waste or fraud. "Today we must take seriously Dr. Martin Luther King's warning that a nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual doom.
By cutting dangerous military spending and making the wealthy pay their fair share of taxes, we can lower taxes for the vast majority of Americans, and ensure that our tax dollars go towards the things that actually improve our lives: jobs, education,
healthcare, and preventing climate catastrophe. We can simultaneously improve national and global security, with a foreign-policy founded on international law and human rights, not on maximizing profits for the weapons industry, " concluded Stein.
Source: 2016 presidential campaign website, Jill2016.com
Apr 18, 2016
Gary Johnson:
Current tax code penalizes productivity & investment
Today's federal tax code does all the wrong things. It penalizes productivity, savings and investment, while rewarding inefficiency and designating winners and losers according to political whim.
For far too long, tax laws have been used not just as a means to collect needed revenues, but as a weapon with which to manipulate our behavior, create and destroy industries and fulfill politicians' dreams of social engineering.
The result is a tax code that is more than 70,000 pages long enforced by a government agency with almost 100,000 employees.
It is a nothing less than a massive deployment of government force on our lives, our finances and our freedom.
Source: 2016 presidential campaign website GaryJohnson2016.com
Jan 11, 2016
Lawrence Lessig:
Taxes in America should be progressive and efficient
Taxes in America should be progressive and efficient. Today they are neither--or at least, not enough. We have flattened the traditionally progressive income tax substantially. We have capped Social Security contributions at a regressively low amount.
We tax corporations unequally and unfairly--and as economists have shown, regressively. And we have one of the most complex tax codes generally in the world.I would work to radically simplify the tax code, while enhancing its progressivity.
I would support abolishing the carried interest exemption that permits some of the richest Americans (hedge fund managers) to pay among the lowest tax rates. I would consider adding a higher marginal rate for individuals making more than $1M a year.
All of these changes follow directly from the principle of an efficient, progressive tax system. But they all would be vigorously opposed by the interests that dominate Washington. After we enact The First Reform, these changes will be easier to achieve.
Source: 2016 presidential campaign website Lessig2016.us, `Issues`
Oct 29, 2015
Lincoln Chafee:
I voted against every Bush tax cut favoring the wealthy
A strong middle class is the bedrock of any prosperous community. However, today's system is stacked against too many American families.
They play by all the rules; they are educated, often at great cost; they work hard all week, and are barely making ends meet. This is not right.
As a U. S. Senator I voted against every Bush tax cut that favored the wealthiest and deepened the disparity between the few and the many.
At the local, state and federal level I have supported incentives and protections that help grow the middle class. Beneficial social programs have a long history of being a force for good in the lives of Americans.
Source: 2016 presidential campaign website Chafee2016.com
Jun 4, 2015
George Pataki:
Throw out incomprehensible tax code: simpler, lower rates
If I have the honor to lead this country, let me tell you some of the things I'd do right away to get oppressive government off the backs of Americans.- I'd eliminate excessive taxes that crush small business.
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I'd throw out an incomprehensible tax code written by lawyers at the direction of lobbyists in the interests of the powerful and replace it with simpler, lower rates that are fair to us all.
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I'd lower taxes on manufacturers to the lowest in the developed world so that factories and jobs could spring up here.
We do this and small businesses will thrive. We will make things and build things here in America again. We will create and
innovate. Jobs will flourish and peoples' faith in America's future will soar. Some say this can't be done. That the course of history leads inexorably towards bigger, more expensive, more powerful government. Don't you believe that for a second.
Source: 2016 presidential campaign website: Announcement speech
May 28, 2015
Rand Paul:
EZ Tax: $700B tax cut via 17% flat tax
As President, I would promote a Fair and Flat Tax plan, known as the "EZ Tax." My tax plan would be the largest tax cut in American history ($700 billion per year), reforming individual, business, and worker taxes. The tax reform plan will include a
17% flat tax for individuals and businesses, making it the most competitive in the world. This would bring more businesses back to America, and leave more money in the hands of hard working Americans. The tax reform plan would also provide low and
middle-income workers with an exemption from the Social Security payroll tax.
The flat tax would also eliminate every form of unfair, double taxation in the United States, including the capital gains, dividend, estate, gift, and interest tax.
My EZ Tax plan encourages our businesses to be competitive in the global economy with lower rates, while also leaving more money in the hands of the hardworking middle class.
Source: 2016 presidential campaign website, RandPaul.com, "Issues"
Apr 7, 2015
Bernie Sanders:
We need a progressive tax system based on ability to pay
At a time of massive wealth and income inequality, we need a progressive tax system in this country which is based on ability to pay. It is not acceptable that major profitable corporations have paid nothing in federal income taxes, and that corporate
CEOs in this country often enjoy an effective tax rate which is lower than their secretaries. It is absurd that we lose over $100 billion a year in revenue because corporations and the wealthy stash their cash in offshore tax havens around the world.
Source: 2016 presidential campaign website, BernieSanders.com
Mar 21, 2015
Page last updated: Dec 09, 2018