Rand Paul presidential campaign, 2016/Taxes
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 Rand Paul |
U.S. Senator (Assumed office: 2011) |
 Republican candidate: |
2028 • 2024 • 2020 • 2016 |
This page was current as of the 2016 election.
| Rand Paul killing the tax code |
- On September 14, 2015, Rand Paul responded to criticism that his tax plan would cause the government to be underfunded, saying, “Precisely! That’s my goal. I want the government to be smaller. … And I want the rates to be so low that people will be beating on the door, wanting to come to America to create a business in America.”[2]
- On August 9, 2015, Paul rejected the idea that his plan to create a “flat and fair tax” would increase income inequality. “It's a fallacious notion to say, 'Oh, rich people get more money back in a tax cut.’ If you cut taxes 10 percent, 10 percent of a million is more than 10 percent of a thousand dollars. So, obviously, people who pay more in taxes will get more back. We all end up working for people who are more successful than us and that's a good thing, that more money will be back in the economy,” Paul said.[3]
- On July 21, 2015, Paul released a video on his plan to simplify the tax code with a flat tax of 14.5 percent. In the video, Paul uses several methods, including a chainsaw, to literally destroy the tax code.[4]
- Paul released his tax reform plan on June 18, 2015 in a op-ed in The Wall Street Journal.[5] His plan called for replacing the tax code with a flat 14.5 percent flat rate on income. The corporate tax would be replaced with a 14.5 percent value-added tax, known as a "business activity tax." It would eliminates all estate and gift taxes, (most) tax credits, deductions, and loopholes that favor big business. The proposal would add $1 trillion to the debt under its dynamic analysis but $3 trillion under a more traditional calculation, according to the Tax Foundation, which advocates for lower taxes.[6]
- In July 2015, Paul compared taxation to slavery. He said, "I’m for paying some taxes. But if we tax you at 100% then you’ve got zero percent liberty. If we tax you at 50% you are half slave, half free. I frankly would like to see you a little freer and a little more money remaining in your communities so you can create jobs. It’s a debate we need to have."[7]
- In April 2015, The National Journal noted that Paul's 2016 presidential campaign website initially featured a detailed outline of Paul's tax plan, that included "a universal flat tax of 17 percent, eliminating the estate tax, and taxing investment on the individual level—including things like capital gains." Paul has since replaced this page with a more generalized overview of his tax platform.[8]
- On his Senate website, Paul proposed replacing the current tax code with a low-rate flat tax that would include a standard deduction and personal exemptions. According to Paul, "The flat tax would eliminate every form of unfair double taxation in the United States, including the capital gains, dividend, Estate_and_inheritance_taxes|estate]], gift, and interest tax."[9]
- Paul released a campaign video in April 2015 promoting his belief that taxes should be significantly cut and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) minimized. Paul said, "It’s time to simplify the tax code and downsize the IRS so we can unleash an economic boom that creates millions of jobs, boosts wages, and expands opportunity for all. My tax plan will get the IRS out of your life, and out of the way of every job creator in America. My plan will also cut spending and balance the budget in just five years. It will be the largest tax cut in American history…a tax cut that will leave more money in the paychecks of every worker in America."[10]
| Rand Paul on cutting taxes in April 2015. |
- On April 24, 2015, Paul signed the Taxpayer Protection Pledge. In doing so, Paul promised to “oppose and veto any and all efforts to increase taxes.” Paul previously signed this pledge when he successfully ran for the United States Senate seat in Kentucky in 2010. According to the Americans for Tax Reform, Paul has honored this pledge as a senator.[11]
- During a 2010 debate between Paul and Jack Conway on FOX News, Paul expressed support for extending the Bush-era tax cuts. Paul said, "What I would say about the Bush tax cuts is, is that businesses have made calculations on these for five or 10 years. Business needs predictability. If you take away these Bush tax cuts, if you allow Obama to have the largest tax increase in our history, it will be a disaster for the economy."[12]
- In 2013, Paul voted against S.743 - Marketplace Fairness Act.[13] Paul wrote an op-ed in The Washington Times on April 19, 2013, stating the bill "would allow states to force private companies to impose a sales tax on online purchases. Rather than reform and prioritize their state budgets, governors are looking to the federal government to take more money out of the wallets of their state’s hardworking citizens. Americans are already struggling as a result of higher federal taxes, but some seek to soak the taxpayer at the state level as well. Even worse, state politicians are already fantasizing about all the new spending programs they can create using these additional taxpayer dollars. The last thing we need is more taxes for the purpose of implementing more government."[14]
- In 2013, Paul recommended repealing the medical device tax and sponsored a resolution to nullify IRS guidance on the medical device tax.[15][16]
- In a statement released on his 2010 Senate campaign website, Paul said the estate tax "is one of the most egregious and vile federal taxes, and any attempt to reinstate it should be stopped." Three years later, Paul co-sponsored S.1183 - Death Tax Repeal Act of 2013.[17][18]
Recent news
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See also
Footnotes
- ↑ Politico, "Rand Paul dropping out of White House race," February 3, 2016
- ↑ The Blaze, "Rand Paul’s Response to Those Who Say His Tax Plan Will Leave the Government Under-Funded," September 14, 2015
- ↑ The Huffington Post, "Rand Paul: Income Inequality Comes From 'Some People Working Harder' Than Others," August 9, 2015
- ↑ Business Insider, "Watch Rand Paul literally shred the US tax code with a chainsaw," July 21, 2015
- ↑ The Wall Street Journal, "Blow Up the Tax Code and Start Over," June 18, 2015
- ↑ Forbes, "Rand Paul's Tax Cut Isn't Quite What It Seems," June 18, 2015
- ↑ MSNBC, " Rand Paul draws parallel between taxes, slavery," July 6, 2015
- ↑ The National Journal, "Rand Paul's Tax-Policy Page Has Reappeared... Without Any Specifics," April 10, 2015
- ↑ Rand Paul, United States Senator for Kentucky, “Taxes," accessed December 9, 2014
- ↑ Rand Paul, "Dr. Rand Paul on Taxes," accessed May 20, 2015
- ↑ Americans for Tax Reform, "Senator Rand Paul Signs Taxpayer Protection Pledge to the American People," April 24, 2015
- ↑ FOX News, "Kentucky Senate Showdown," October 3, 2010
- ↑ Congress.gov, "S.743 - The Marketplace Fairness Act," accessed May 20, 2015
- ↑ The Washington Times, "PAUL: An ill-advised Internet tax mandate," April 19, 2013
- ↑ Politico, "Rand Paul on Obamacare compromise: ‘Maybe’," September 23, 2013
- ↑ Congress.gov, “S.J.Res.8 - A joint resolution providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Internal Revenue Service of the Department of the Treasury relating to taxable medical devices.," accessed December 9, 2014
- ↑ Rand Paul, U.S. Senate 2010, "Jack Conway joins Ally Obama in Proposing New Death Tax," accessed May 20, 2015
- ↑ Congress.gov, "S.1183 - Death Tax Repeal Act of 2013," accessed May 20, 2015
