Posted on 10/16/2010 9:33:00 AM PDT by GOPGuide
First the infamous proposed “truce” on social issues, now this. No wonder he’s David Brooks’s candidate of choice.
Alternate headline: “Mitch Daniels continues quixotic bid to disqualify himself from Republican nomination.”
Daniels recited from Kahn’s book: “It would be most useful to redesign the tax system to discourage consumption and encourage savings and investment. One obvious possibility is a value added tax and flat income tax, with the only exception being a lower standard deduction.”
“That might suit our current situation pretty well,” said Daniels, who served as George W. Bush’s Office of Management and Budget director and was a senior adviser in Ronald Reagan’s White House. “It also might fit Bill Simon’s line in the late ‘70s that the nation should have a tax system that looks like someone designed it on purpose.”…
In a brief interview after his speech, Daniels downplayed the significance of his comments. He stressed that he would support a VAT “under only the right circumstances,” reiterating his desire for it to be paired with a flat income tax.
“If you think that the paramount problem for the country is the debt, and we’ll never get on top of it without really robust growth, one of the things you want is a very different, more pro-growth tax system,” Daniels told POLITICO. “And a quarter century ago, (Kahn) was writing about one. That’s all. There are other ways to get at it.”
He also sounded warm to the idea of a tax on imported oil. Let me play devil’s advocate here, knowing full well that tax nerds will jump down my throat in the comments: While Daniels has said before that we might need to raise taxes to eliminate the debt, the “VAT + flat tax” system would be geared mainly towards greater efficiency, not necessarily towards a heavier overall tax burden, right? The reason the VAT makes righties shudder is that it’s typically mentioned by Democrats as a new tax on top of the 25+% income tax brackets that most people currently find themselves in. All Daniels is suggesting, I take it, is replacing the brackets with a single income tax rate of, say, 15% and then dropping, say, a 10% VAT on goods and services, which would in theory make tax collection vastly more efficient while giving taxpayers an extra measure of control in deciding how much tax they pay. Want to reduce your debt to Uncle Sam this year? Simple — under a VAT, you’d just spend less.
snip
Using the VAT to target sugary drinks? Surely our government would never do that. Exit question: Is this actually clever “strategery” on Daniels’s part, as his old boss once famously said? Everyone in the GOP field is trying to throw the hardest “true conservative” fastball to impress the base and yet here he is snapping off curves and sliders to appeal to the rest. Hmmmm.
Sounds like he’s running for Myth’s VP slot.
At least we don’t have to waste our time considering him when the primaries come around.
I am unconditionally opposed to a VAT. I do not care what happens to the income tax. I will never support a VAT. It is the worst possible tax scheme. It is invisible, complex, and a huge money maker. Our version of the VAT will undoubtedly be much worse than other countries.
Worse than a RINO.
He’s not even a fiscal conservative.
As conservatives, we need to come out hard against this guy. he is a threat to the movement and could set it back decades if he gets a national position. From what I ahev read of him I condsider him a mcain/murkowski/castle clone!
There are many liberals who have enough common sense not to mention the idea of a VAT. I’m just stunned that Daniels could be this stupid.
If you really want to encourage savings and investment and discourage consumption, you should have no income tax and a retail sales tax on everything with no exceptions.
No VAT because it is a hidden tax on the consumer just like corporate taxes.
A perfect scheme for money hungry politicians.
Being invisible is the WORST part and would only bring us down faster via stealthy theft.
Yep, a socialist/Marxist dream tax!
he just lost any chance for higher office.
I agree, a VAT is a criminal tax.
That said, the thing Daniels and every other idiot in DC doesn’t get is that we can NEVER balance income and out go by increasing taxes. No matter what form the taxes take.
There simply isn’t enough money to satisfy the government’s thirst. The only solution is on the spending side of the equation. And that requires radical changes to the government AND an end to the entitlement mentality of the American people. So there is no hope. Too many of the people are greedy and stupid, a damning combination.
He’s not even a fiscal conservative.
Yes, but isn't he the lesser of two evils next to a Dimocrat? /s
Well, Mitch Daniel’s done. Not that with his boring persona he ever had a chance in the era of Clinton and Obama.
Too true that...America does socialism horribly. All you need to do is look at Obamacare to see that our government has taken the worst concepts of socialism and created a disaster.
I say let Europe be Europe...no need to make ourselves into a poor imitation of that continent.
This is disappointing, to say the least.
I thought Mitch would be a super candidate, but alas, he’s fuggin’ the dog pretty much on a regular basis now.
Ditch Mitch.
> Yes, but isn’t he the lesser of two evils next to a Dimocrat? /s
Given your /s tag, I take it that you agree with me that the DemonRATs need to own this catastrophe lock, stock and barrel.
If the new Republican Congress does not aggressively pursue these communists to the ends of the earth, and apply themselves vigorously to eviscerate or defund every cockamamie piece of 0bamunist legislation, they will inherit blame for the economic debacle in the 2012 election cycle.
Thune as vp would make up 4 his shortcomings in this ‘era.’
Jim DeMint for Majority Leader!
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