Paul Ryan on Tax Reform : Aug 11, 2012
Eliminate double taxes like the death tax and AMT

I have advanced reforms to a tax code that is too complicated, too burdensome and puts American-made products at a competitive disadvantage to foreign competitors. For individuals, I have proposed a flatter, simpler system for taxpayers to pay their income taxes. You would be able to choose to pay your taxes using the current code--with all of its deductions, credits, and so on--or under the simplified tax option with just two low rates and with a tax form that would fit on a postcard. I believe that we should not double and triple-tax Americans--have sought to eliminate the death tax, the Alternative Minimum Tax, along with taxes on savings.

Marco Rubio on Corporations : Jun 19, 2012
End double-taxes: capital gains; dividends; & inheritance

• Let's reform the tax code and reduce tax rates across the board.
• Let's eliminate double taxation by abolishing the taxes on capital gains, on dividends, on interest. And while we're at it, let's eliminate the one on death, too.
• Let's significantly lower the corporate tax rates so that once again [America is] competitive with the rest of the world.

Virgil Goode on Tax Reform : Apr 21, 2012
Eliminate the Death Tax; institute modified FairTax

I support and have voted to terminate the current IRS Code at a date determined in the future so it can be replaced with something simpler and fairer. There are several alternatives to the current Code and include the Fair Tax, the Flat Tax, the Transaction Tax, and others. Between the current IRS code and the Fair Tax, I would support the Fair Tax with certain modifications. For example, the Fair Tax, which is basically a national sales tax, has a prebate of $180 per month per person, which should be limited to US citizens. I would support a Fair Tax only if certain other taxes, such as the Death Tax and Income Tax were eliminated. If the Income Tax were to be retained, then I would oppose a national sales tax and have a simple flat rate income tax and scrap the current code.

Barack Obama on Tax Reform : Jan 24, 2012
Buffett rule: millionaires pay minimum of 30% in taxes

Do we want to keep these tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans? Or do we want to keep our investments in everything else? Because if we're serious about paying down our debt, we can't do both.

Tax reform should follow the Buffett rule: If you make more than $1 million a year, you should not pay less than 30% in taxes, and you shouldn't get special tax subsidies or deductions. On the other hand, if you make under $250,000 a year, like 98% of American families, your taxes shouldn't go up.

Mitt Romney on Budget & Economy : Sep 22, 2011
Obama economy hurt middle class the most, so help them first

ROMNEY: My intent is to help the people who have been most hurt by President Obama's economy. And the people who have been most hurt are the middle income families of America. And that's why my plan says that if middle income families want to save their money, anybody earning under $200,000 and not pay any taxes on interest, dividends or capital gains, zero tax on their savings, that's the plan I'm for. And I will get that done in my first year.

Barack Obama on Tax Reform : Sep 8, 2011
We need a tax code where everybody pays their fair share

I'll also offer ideas to reform a corporate tax code that stands as a monument to special interest influence in Washington. By eliminating pages of loopholes and deductions, we can lower one of the highest corporate tax rates in the world. Our tax code shouldn't give an advantage to companies that can afford the best-connected lobbyists. It should give an advantage to companies that invest and create jobs here in America.

Marco Rubio on Tax Reform : Feb 20, 2010
Capital gains tax is double taxation

Marco Rubio on Corporations : Feb 3, 2010
Eliminate taxes on capital gains; lower corporate tax rates

Sarah Palin on Tax Reform : Nov 17, 2009
To end recession: slay the death tax and cut capital gains

Ronald Reagan faced an even worse recession. He showed us how to get out of one. If you want real job growth, cut capital gains taxes and slay the death tax once and for all. And if we really want to help the poor and middle class get through this recession, how about cutting their payroll taxes? Giving people control over more of the money they've earned: now that's real stimulus. Get federal spending under control, and then set aside and watch this economy roar back to life.

The way forward is full of promise. But it takes more courage for a politician to step back and let the free market correct itself than it does to push through quick fixes. Reagan showed courage when he stayed the course through the long recession of the early 1980s. Critics even in his own party told him to abandon his tax cuts. He was confident they would work. And they did.

Sarah Palin on Tax Reform : Nov 13, 2009
FactCheck: No, Reagan didn't end 1980s recession by tax cuts

THE FACTS: The estate tax, which some call the death tax, was not repealed under Reagan and capital gains taxes are lower now than when Reagan was president.

Economists overwhelmingly say the current recession is far worse. The recession Reagan faced lasted for 16 months; this one is in its 23rd month. The recession of the early 1980s did not have a financial meltdown. Unemployment peaked at 10.8 percent, worse than the October 2009 high of 10.2 percent, but the jobless rate is still expected to climb.

Paul Ryan on Tax Reform : Jul 4, 2009
Road Map: simplified two-level flat tax

The new, simplified tax code eliminates nearly all existing tax deductions and exclusions, but it allows generous standard deductions and personal exemptions. Individuals receive a $12,500 deduction. Personal exemptions allow $3,500 for each family member. Tax return could be done on a post card.

The Road Map plan would not require major changes in the current income tax system now collected by employers. People who don't like the simplified tax alternative could stay with the current tax system. This gives people a choice, and the total tax revenue to the government would be the same. Who could complain about that?

Sarah Palin on Tax Reform : Sep 3, 2008
Raising taxes hurts small business and hurts jobs

My sister Heather and her husband have just built a service station that’s now opened for business--like millions of others who run small businesses. How are they going to be any better off if taxes go up?

Or maybe you’re trying to keep your job at a plant in Michigan or Ohio ... or create jobs with clean coal from Pennsylvania or West Virginia ... or keep a small farm in the family right here in Minnesota. How are you going to be better off if our opponent adds a massive tax burden to the American economy?

Ron Paul on Budget & Economy : Feb 3, 2008
Economic Revitalization Plan: “Prescription for Prosperity”

“Prescription for Prosperity”: The Four-Point Plan
1. Tax Reform: Reduce the tax burden and eliminate taxes that punish investment and savings, including job-killing corporate taxes. Eliminate taxes on dividends and savings. Repeal the death tax. Cut taxes for working seniors. Eliminate taxes on social security benefits. Accelerate depreciation on investment. Eliminate taxes on capital gains. Eliminate taxes on tips.
2. Spending Reform: Eliminate wasteful spending. Reduce overseas commitments. Freeze all non-defense, non-entitlement spending at current levels.
3. Monetary Policy Reform: Expand openness at the Federal Reserve and require the Fed to televise its meetings. Return value to our money.
4. Regulatory Reform: Repeal Sarbanes/Oxley regulations that push companies to seek capital outside of US markets. Stop restricting community banks from fostering local economic growth.

Barack Obama on Tax Reform : Oct 30, 2007
Trillion dollar giveaway: the Paris Hilton Tax Break

Hillary Clinton on Tax Reform : Oct 30, 2007
Freeze estate tax at 2009 level of $7 million per couple

Mitt Romney on Tax Reform : Aug 31, 2007
Death tax just doesn’t make sense

• Just say No: “I said no to a tax hike; raising taxes hurts working people and scares away jobs. I also said no to more borrowing; borrowing just shifts our problems to the backs of our kids. Instead, I went after waste, inefficiency, duplication, and patronage.”
• The Death Tax: “It doesn’t make sense to me that people get taxed when they can earn their money, get taxed when they save their money, and get taxed when they die. We should get rid of the death tax.

Mitt Romney on Tax Reform : Aug 5, 2007
Commission studied FairTax and found serious flaws

A: It’s good, but it’s not that good. There are a lot of features that are very attractive about a FairTax. Getting rid of the IRS is something we’d all love. But the truth is, we’re going to have to pay taxes. Completely throwing out our tax system and coming up with an entirely new one is something we have to do very, very carefully. The president’s commission on tax reform looked at this and said: Not a good idea. Some of the reasons are the FairTax, for instance, charges a 23% tax, plus state sales tax, on a new home, when you purchase a new home. But if you buy an old home, there’s no tax. Think what that might do to the construction industry. We need to thoroughly take it apart before we make a change of that nature. That’s why my view is, get rid of the tax on savings and let middle-income people save their money tax-free

Hillary Clinton on Tax Reform : Jun 28, 2007
Why cut off payroll contribution at $95,000?

A: Middle-class and working families are paying a much higher percentage of their income. [Billionaires like] Warren Buffett pay about 17%, because don’t forget, it’s the payroll tax plus the income tax. And when you cut off the contribution at $95,000, that’s a lot of money between $95,000 and the $46 million that Warren Buffett made last year. We’ve got to get back to having those with the most contribute to this country.

Barack Obama on Tax Reform : Oct 1, 2006
Estate tax only affects the wealthiest 1/2 of 1%

Nowhere has this confusion been more evident than in the debate surrounding the proposed repeal of the estate tax. As currently structured, a husband and wife can pass on $4 million without paying any estate tax. In 2009, this figure goes up to $7 million. The tax thus affects only the wealthiest one-third of 1% in 2009. Repealing the estate tax would cost $1 trillion, and it would be hard to find a tax cut that was less responsive to the needs of ordinary Americans or the long-term interests of the country.

Barack Obama on Social Security : Jan 6, 2006
Raise the cap on the payroll tax on wealthy individuals

Hillary Clinton on Abortion : Oct 11, 2005
Voted liberal line on partial birth & harm to fetus

Hillary’s votes all echo the liberal line in the Senate
• She opposed the ban on partial birth abortions
• She came down against criminalizing harm to a fetus during an attack on the mother
• She opposed a travel ban to Cuba
• She opposed a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage
• She backed extending the ban on assault rifles for 10 years
• She was against Bush’s tax cuts
• She opposed repealing the estate tax
• She opposed limits on class action lawsuits.