From Hope to Higher Ground: on Tax Reform

Eliminated AR marriage penalty & capital gains on home sales

During my tenure as governor, we:
• Eliminated the income tax for families below the poverty line.
• Increased the standard deductions.
• Eliminated the marriage penalty.
• Eliminated bracket creep by indexing the income taxes to inflation, thereby preventing taxpayers from moving into a higher bracket when their paychecks increase due to inflations.
• Doubled the child care tax credit.
• Eliminated capital gains tax on the sale of a home.
• Passed the first broad-based tax cut in the state’s history.
• Signed a property taxpayer’s bill of rights establishing a uniform notice and due process procedure allowing taxpayers to appeal valuation and assessments.
• Provided an income tax credit for companies that provide or reimburse for training and education programs for employees.
• Cut the capital gains tax for individuals and business to encourage investment.

Illustrated hypocrisy with “Tax Me More Fund”

Arkansas citizens who felt they were not contributing enough of their personal or business income could write checks and the state would be more than happy to receive their contributions.

I carried envelopes for the Tax Me More Fund. I must have carried them to dozens of speeches and yet not one time did anyone ask for an envelope. From 2001 to 2005, a total of 56 people made contributions to the Tax Me More Fund totaling $2,077. It was a potent way of pointing out the hypocrisy of the insincere vocal minority who proved by their failure to write a check that they wanted more taxes to be paid, but they wanted them to be paid by someone other than themselves. In Dec. 2001, the Americans for Tax Reform named me as a Friend of the Taxpayer for exposing the phoniness of the more tax arguments.

Supports national flat tax to keep up with globalization

One of the arguments for a flat tax is to address a world economy that has radically changed in the last decade. Capital, and even labor, are fluid & mobile. A tax structure that is more predictable, consistent, flatter, and fairer not only represents greater accountability in government but may well be a key element of economic survival as we continue to play on a global stage. Governments unwilling to respond with lower rates and broader tax bases are tempting fate and could continue to see erosion of investment & jobs.

Some argue that a flat tax is especially oppressive to those at the bottom of the economy because they currently pay little of their income to taxes. Making sure that a tax system is fair means we should not ignore the needs of the poor.