Steve Forbes 1996 On The Issues: The Flat Tax

Steve Forbes on The Flat Tax and How Much Your Family Saves:

America needs to take a new road, one toward an expansion future that is bigger and better than our past. That's why I'm proposing today, and will be talking about throughout my campaign, a liberation movement to take power away from Washington and put it in the hands of the people. A "Boston Tea Party," if you will, that puts an end to the taxing and spending party in Washington, DC. I mean to free the mighty American economy from political repression.

The first element is dramatic pro-growth tax cuts.

I'm not talking "revenue neutral" fiddling with the tax code, the usual game in Washington that pretends to cut some taxes while raising others. And I'm not talking about fiddling around the "margins" cutting taxes that only help the well-to-do.

I am talking about across-the-board tax cuts that are deep and wide and permanent, that reach down to all Americans and get the suffocating weight of the IRS off their backs.

Start by scrapping the tax code. Don't fiddle with it. Junk it. Throw it out. Bury it. Replace it with a pro-growth, pro-family tax cut that lowers tax rates to 17% across the board and expands exemptions for individuals and children so that a family of four would pay no taxes on the first $36,000 of income.

Not one cent to the IRS on the first $36,000. Anything over that would be taxed at a flat, fair 17%.

The flat tax would be simple. You could fill it out on a postcard. It would be honest. It would eliminate the principal source of political corruption in Washington. It would be fair. Millions of people would be off the federal income tax rolls.

There would be no tax on Social Security. No tax on pensions. No tax on personal savings. It would zero out capital gains taxes. It would set off a boom by letting people keep more of what they earn and by lowering barriers to risk taking.

I will underline here this distinction between my proposal and those floated by other candidates in this political season:

I am straightforwardly calling for a tax cut to expand the economy and make everyone better off.

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We need dramatic, pro-growth tax cuts -- tax cuts that are deep, wide and permanent, that reach down to all American families and businesses -- especially small businesses -- and get the suffocating weight of the IRS off our backs.

Start by scrapping the tax code. Don't fiddle with it. Throw it out. Put as many IRS bureaucrats as possible into job retraining.

Replace it with a flat tax that is a tax cut -- a pro-growth, pro-family tax cut that lowers tax rates to 17 per cent across the board and expands exemptions for individuals and children so that a family of four would pay no taxes on the first $36,000 of income.

Not one cent to the IRS on the first $36,000 of income. Anything more than that would be taxed at a flat, fair 17 per cent.

This would mean that families living at the median household income would pay practically nothing to Uncle Sam in taxes.

The flat tax would be so simple, you could fill it out on a post card. A post card that would say, in effect, having a wonderful time; glad most of my money is here.

It would be honest. It would eliminate the principal source of political corruption in Washington -- trading loopholes for campaign cash. It would be fair. Millions of people would be off the tax rolls.

There would be no tax on Social Security. No tax on pensions. No tax on personal savings. For the sake of small businesses and entrepreneurs, it would zero out capital gains. For Mom-and-Pop stores, and everyone else, it would eliminate estate taxes.

Let me underline this difference between my proposal and others: I am straight forwardly calling for a tax cut to expand our economy and make everyone better off.

Since 1970 -- in just 25 years -- Washington spending has increased more than seven fold.

During those same years, family income in America has declined.

But the politicians say "we" can't afford a tax cut. Maybe we can't afford the politicians.

I say it's time that we cut government's income and raise our families' incomes.

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America has the potential for the greatest economic boom and spiritual renewal in our history. But we're being held back by Washington politics as usual. It's time we move forward. Start with a low flat tax, put term limits on politicians and restore control of our schools to parents. Let's return opportunity to all Americans. Do that and our best days are ahead.

Steve Forbes on Tax Cuts:

As President, the 17% flat tax will be only the beginning. I will continue to cut taxes from the bottom up, expanding family exemptions dollar for dollar for every cut in the budget. That will make it dramatic for all America to see that every dollar Congress chooses to spend on a pet project is coming right out of America's families pockets.

So I want not only a flat tax, but a flat tax that is a tax cut. And let me caution my party that we must be aware of the 'ER' candidates: those who put the letters 'er' at the end of every word, like "I want a tax that's flatter, fairer, simpler." The 'ER' candidates will end up putting our country in the Emergency Room.

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Small businesses are entrepreneurs with a dream...from high-tech start-ups on the cutting edge of discovery to Mom-and-Pop stores that bind our communities together. They are, in fact, over 90 per cent of all businesses in the U.S., with a combined economic output greater than Germany or France or the United Kingdom.

Yet to Washington, small business is just a big pocket to be picked -- a source of revenue, an easy mark to be squeezed for every last tax dollar or mandated and regulated into extinction.

I believe small businesses should be growing larger, not the bureaucracy that regulates you.

But that's the "culture of Washington." You can see it in the very words used. Have you noticed how the Democrats and so-called "moderate" Republicans in Congress say things like "We can't afford a tax cut," "We can't afford a loss of revenue." It's revealing how completely they identify themselves with the government -- and against the people. The government, if it's to grow ever bigger and more powerful, is never going to be able to afford a tax cut.

But I'll tell you this, the American people cannot afford that kind of government.

We cannot afford NOT to cut taxes.

I'm not talking about "revenue neutral" tinkering with the tax code, the usual shell game in Washington that pretends to cut some taxes while raising others. I'm not talking about marginal tax cuts that help only the well-to-do, or even the $500 tax credit being fought over so hard these days, which, even if it passes, will be a mere drop in the bucket of what is needed for future growth and prosperity.

We need dramatic, pro-growth tax cuts -- tax cuts that are deep, wide and permanent, that reach down to all American families and businesses -- especially small businesses -- and get the suffocating weight of the IRS off our backs.

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America needs to take a new road, one toward an expansion future that is bigger and better than our past. That's why I'm proposing today, and will be talking about throughout my campaign, a liberation movement to take power away from Washington and put it in the hands of the people. A "Boston Tea Party," if you will, that puts an end to the taxing and spending party in Washington, DC. I mean to free the mighty American economy from political repression.

The first element is dramatic pro-growth tax cuts.

I'm not talking "revenue neutral" fiddling with the tax code, the usual game in Washington that pretends to cut some taxes while raising others. And I'm not talking about fiddling around the "margins" cutting taxes that only help the well-to-do.

I am talking about across-the-board tax cuts that are deep and wide and permanent, that reach down to all Americans and get the suffocating weight of the IRS off their backs.

Start by scrapping the tax code. Don't fiddle with it. Junk it. Throw it out. Bury it. Replace it with a pro-growth, pro-family tax cut that lowers tax rates to 17% across the board and expands exemptions for individuals and children so that a family of four would pay no taxes on the first $36,000 of income.

Not one cent to the IRS on the first $36,000. Anything over that would be taxed at a flat, fair 17%.

The flat tax would be simple. You could fill it out on a postcard. It would be honest. It would eliminate the principal source of political corruption in Washington. It would be fair. Millions of people would be off the federal income tax rolls.

There would be no tax on Social Security. No tax on pensions. No tax on personal savings. It would zero out capital gains taxes. It would set off a boom by letting people keep more of what they earn and by lowering barriers to risk taking.

I will underline here this distinction between my proposal and those floated by other candidates in this political season:

I am straightforwardly calling for a tax cut to expand the economy and make everyone better off.