A Better Tax Plan

As always, the topic of taxes comes up any time there's an election. This time is no different.

However, the two parties involved in the race for the White House have two different views about taxes. One thinks they aren't high enough. The other thinks they aren't low enough. I think you'll agree that a majority of Americans believe the latter.

Hillary Clinton has already told us that she will be taking money away from us for our own good, as if she knows how to spend it better than we do.

Republicans, on the other hand, say we haven't cut taxes enough. Former candidate Fred Thompson came up with a tax plan that was both simpler and, in the long run, fairer than the present tax code. Since he's dropped out of the race, another has taken up the mantle of tax reformer – Rudi Giuliani.

Rudy Giuliani has proposed the largest tax cut in modern American history and a dramatic simplification of the tax code. His proposal has received broad support from fiscal conservatives in Washington; yesterday it was introduced as legislation by Reps. David Dreier and Roy Blunt, and by Sen. Christopher Bond.

Our Founders drafted the Constitution with fewer than 5,000 words; with later amendments it is about 8,000 words. The federal tax code is more than 9 million words. So the document that created the government is less than 0.1% as long as the tax code that funds it. Such is the state of Washington today.

Mr. Giuliani understands how the tax code frustrates and confuses many Americans, and that's why he will give every taxpayer the option of using a one-page "Fair and Simple Tax Form." Under the FAST Form, there will be only three rates: 10%, 15% and 30%. Taxpayers who prefer to use the existing forms will remain free to do so. Prized deductions for mortgage payments, state and local taxes, charitable contributions, and child tax credits will all be preserved on the FAST Form.

History shows that whenever Washington cuts taxes, revenues rise. The rise in revenue isn't instantaneous, lagging some months after the cuts go into affect because it takes time for the economy to respond. But the revenues rise above the level of income before the cuts. There is a point where further tax cuts will cause revenues to drop, but we're not there yet.

It seems many Democrats understand this principle, yet ignore it, wanting to use taxes as a means to control the economy, and hence, society. It's a matter of redistributing wealth, taking away from the wealthy and giving to the poor. (Of course the money given to the poor has strings, which will ensure the poor remain beholden to the government and will not get out of poverty until the Democrats get out of the way.) As always they'll want to take too much, which in turn will cause the economy to slow down. Then the blame will be placed upon the very people the Dems have been taking money from. Never mind they've created big disincentives to spend money or to invest in business. Because revenues will fall they'll raise taxes to make up the shortfall, creating even more misery in the economy.

Perhaps Mr. Thompson's Giuliani's plan can help prevent that, allowing those earning the money to keep a bigger portion of it and spend it on things that drive the economy.