- Rick Santorum
« Economic Freedom
Agenda: 20/20 Flat Tax
For
Immediate
Release
October
12, 2015
Contact: Matt Beynon
***SPEECH EXCERPTS & WHITE PAPER***
Santorum unveils Economic Freedom Agenda
"It is time for a President who will take a blow torch to the tax code, end the IRS as we know it, and create a new tax system for a new century - a single-rate system that is honest, simple and fair."
VERONA,
PA - This afternoon, in a speech to the World Affairs Council in Ft.
Worth, Texas, Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum will
unveil his Economic Freedom Agenda, with a 20/20 Flat Tax as its
centerpiece.
To view the campaign white paper, with complete policy proposals, click here.
In his speech, Senator Santorum will
make the following remarks (as prepared for delivery):
On
why
we
need
tax
reform now:
"Four years ago, I proposed a bold
tax reform plan of
two low rates, with a top rate of just 28%. I use to say, if 28% was
good enough for Ronald Reagan, then it was good enough for me. But
since then the Obama-Biden team has presided over a culture of
scandal
and corruption at the IRS that is making hardworking American families
lose faith in their government. I have come to the conclusion
that
"fixing" the current system is no longer possible. It is too far
gone.
It is time to drain the swamp."
On
proposals
by
other
2016
contenders:
"What's Hillary Clinton's vision to
get the economy moving? Slam investors with higher capital gains rates.
Bernie Sanders? He's a socialist proposing a top rate of 90%.
What's
Donald Trump's plan to make America great again? A budget-busting tax
cut that would increase the deficit by more than $10 trillion.
The
others? Gov. Jeb Bush wants three rates. Sen. Marco Rubio wants
two.
Sen. Rand Paul has proposed a single rate, plus the creation of a
European-style Value Added Tax.
This
isn't Europe, ladies and gentlemen. This is America! And America
deserves better than socialists, budget busters, and tax code tinkerers
who aren't serious about reforming a broken and corrupt Code."
On
why
a
Flat
Tax:
"It
is time for a President who will take a blow torch to the tax
code, end
the IRS as we know it, and create a new tax system for a new century
- a single-rate system that is honest, simple and fair.
No longer will
Warren Buffett pay less than his secretary, no longer will American
industry be hamstrung on the World marketplace, and no longer will
three letters, I-R-S, strike fear into the hearts of law-abiding
citizens."
On
why
Santorum
can
be
trusted to succeed:
"Freshmen
senators in the current presidential field believe long-winded speeches
qualify them to be Commander-in-Chief. Well, when I was a
freshman
Senator, I wrote and passed sweeping entitlement reform
that ended
federal welfare as we know it, dramatically reduced poverty, put
millions of Americans back to work, and reduced runaway federal
spending. It was so successful that now Bill Clinton tries to
take
credit for it. You're welcome #42.
When
I opposed Hillary Clinton's socialized healthcare plan, I didn't read
Dr. Seuss on the Senate floor for 20 hours, I wrote and passed Health
Savings Accounts. And when Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and Joe
Biden wanted a wait and see approach to a nuclear Iran, I didn't
capitulate to the State Department, I wrote the law codifying the
sanctions that have now brought the Iranian economy to its knees.
I
don't just give speeches. I produce results. When I say I
am going to
do something, the American people can trust that it will get
done.
Ladies and gentlemen, this tax reform will get done."
The key components of the 20/20 Flat Tax are:
A 20%
flat tax on all sources of individual income (wages,
salaries, business
and investment income such as capital gains and
dividends) after
generous exemptions to shield much of a worker's income from federal
taxation ($2,750 per person credit, plus retention of the Child Tax
Credit).
- No more marriage penalty.
- No death tax.
- No Alternative Minimum Tax.
- Elimination of all tax increases imposed by ObamaCare.
- Elimination of all individual tax deductions, except two - an uncapped charitable deduction to encourage generous giving to faith-based and non-profit organizations, and the home mortgage interest deduction, which is capped at $25,000 a year.
A 20% flat tax on business income.
- Provide manufacturing corporations with a jumpstart to compensate for the uncompetitive system now in place by providing a 100% income exemption on federal corporate taxation at the commencement of the "20/20 Plan" that phases out over two years. After that, U.S. manufacturers will pay the 20% flat corporate rate tax like all other businesses.
- Incentivize manufacturers to bring home to America
an estimated $2.1 trillion in profits that are currently parked
overseas by allowing businesses to pay a one-time 10% tax on
those repatriated profits.
- Allows all capital investments in plant and equipment, including inventories, to be fully deductible in the year they are purchased.
- Elimination of the deductibility of interest expenses.
- Elimination of all other corporate deductions, loopholes & shelters.
- Absolutely no Value Added Tax - not now, not ever.
According to an analysis by the non-partisan Tax Foundation,
the 20/20 Flat Tax Plan will:
- Increase the GDP by 10.2% over 10 years, above current baseline projections. This means that rather than grow at a paltry 2.3% a year, Santorum's flat tax plan will boost economic growth to at least 3.3% a year over the next ten years.
- Increase capital investment by 29%.
- Increase wages by 7.3%.
- Create 3.135 million new jobs above and beyond current job-growth projections. This means that, in combination with the impact of the rest of Santorum's Economic Freedom Agenda, the U.S. would create a total of 19 million jobs for the American people over the next decade.
For
Immediate
Release
October
12, 2015
Contact: Matt Beynon
***WTAS***
Conservative luminaries hail Santorum's call for tax reform
"Extraordinary," "Exquisite," "A plan only the Chinese could hate
VERONA,
PA - The reviews are in and the Santorum Economic Freedom Agenda is
receiving rave reviews as a plan to get the American economy
moving.
Here is a sampling of what leading conservatives have to say:
"...
I can comfortably say the Santorum tax plan is extraordinarily good and
pro-growth. The focus of taxation should be to do as little
damage to
prosperity as possible while raising the requisite revenues to provide
funding for the proper functions of government. This plan carries
out
that objective exquisitely."
- Art Laffer
Former
Economic Advisor to President Reagan, Policy Co-Chairman of the Free
Enterprise Fund & Board of Scholars of the American Legislative
Exchange Council
"Lower and flatter rates. Pro-worker, pro-business and
pro-growth tax reform. It's a plan only the Chinese could hate."
- Stephen Moore
Former President of the Club for Growth, Former Wall
Street Journal Editorial Board Member, & Heritage Foundation
Distinguished Visiting Fellow
"The
Santorum tax reform plan will greatly strengthen the American economy.
It will create more jobs for Americans, increase our
international
competitiveness and make America, once again, the world leader
in manufacturing. The Santorum tax reform plan will double
the rate of
economic growth in the United States from the 2% Obama rate to the 4%
growth rate we knew under Ronald Reagan."
- Grover Norquist
Founder of Americans for Tax Reform