One of the most important topics presidential candidates talk about is taxes. People are always wondering what the candidate’s stance on tax reform, Social Security and Medicare is. During Wednesday night’s GOP debate, candidates seemed to have taken a variety of different stances on the big topic.
Taxes are a complicated thing
Political debates leading up to a presidential elections can be interesting. The Republican presidential candidates seemed to have turn on each other during Wednesday’s discussion. Each of them strained to wreck one another’s proposals while they failed to answer questions from the moderators. They also completely ignored any problems that their very own proposals would cause.
Tax Foundation officials released analyses of the tax-reform plans made by six of the presidential contenders. They found that each of them would add at least $1 trillion to the debt. Ohio Gov. John Kasich said, “These plans would put us trillions and trillions of dollars in debt. You don’t just make promises like this – why don’t we just give a chicken in every pot?”
Stances of the GOP candidates
Kasich also pointed out that it is important to elect someone who knows how to properly reform taxes. He said that Ben Carson’s “tithe” approach will not do, but neither will Donald Trump’s proposal.
Carson’s plan is a flat 15 percent tax across the board. He also plans to have big cuts in federal spending to be able to pay off national debt. “We have 645 federal agencies and sub agencies,” Carson said. “Anybody who tells me that we need every penny in every one of those is in a fantasy world. Also, we can stimulate, that’s going to be the real growth engine: Stimulate the economy.”
Marco Rubio proposed a family-friendly tax plan. This would cause the lowest incomes in the country to see a significant increase, according to Rubio. However, Tax Foundation analysis showed the top 1 percent would see their after-tax incomes go up by almost twice as much as some of those in the middle of the income distribution (which is where most working families lie).
Carly Fiorina has not yet proposed her own tax plan, however, she has said that she would like to shorten the tax code. The code, which is 73,000 pages currently, would be shortened to just three pages under Fiorina’s plan.
Where does it leave us?
Tax reform has been a hot topic during every presidential election and it may possibly be the most important part of the election. Tax plans will affect every household in America. Whether it be Ben Carson’s “tithe” plan, Fiorina’s “simplify” plan or Rubio’s “family-friendly” plan, each person across the nation will be affected. So, even if “tax talk” makes your eyes glaze over, tune in to the next debate and pay special attention to the proposed tax reforms and rebuttal against each one.
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