Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry has finally come forward with his own version of a tax plan: an optional 20% flat tax. Under President Perry, Americans would have the option of choosing this flat tax over their current tax rate. Perry claims that his proposal will not only put Americans back to work, but will balance the federal budget by 2020. But somehow his math just doesn’t add up.
In addition to the optional tax system, Perry proposes several minor personal tax revisions including abolishing taxes on Social Security (he just couldn’t stay away from it). The Perry plan also calls for lowering corporate income tax to 20%, down from the 28% it currently stands at. His defense is that this rate is well above the global average and that he wants to keep America competitive in hopes that companies will locate their industries here in the United States. This section of the plan also calls for large tax cuts on profits that corporations make overseas in hopes that these same corporations will reinvest in the American economy.
In order to compensate for the lower corporation taxes, Perry advocates eliminating all tax loopholes that allow companies to get out of tax obligations: namely bailouts. His justification is that these loopholes put the burden on American tax payers and are too complex to fully understand. And while this section of his plan offers no specifics on how he will eliminate these loopholes, Perry’s plan says they will be “phased out over time.”
It’s easy for Perry to say that he will eliminate these bailouts because it is incredibly doubtful that he’ll ever have to deal with that kind of situation. And as for the rest of his plan, the slash and burn tactic will do much more harm than good in attempting to balance the federal budget. But the worst part is the 20% flat rate, a thinly disguised tax break for the rich. As the rates stand, the wealthier Americans generally pay higher percentage in taxes than most others. But under a flat 20% tax rate, the rich, for the most part, are given a substantial tax break percentage wise. And those Americans who are the worst off financially will be asked to shoulder even more burden by having their taxes raised.
Perry says he’s trying to balance the scales while having his finger pressed down firmly on one side the whole time. He’s trying disguise himself as a man committed to the people, when in actuality he’s just a hack who has no idea what he’s doing, but is still trying to fuck the middle class for the fun of it.
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