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- iHaveNet.com: Politics
by Alex M. Parker
Simplicity, as with Herman Cain's '9-9-9' proposal sells on the campaign trail but it's hard to pull off in Washington
On the campaign trail, candidates love to sell simple plans. Herman Cain, the former
It's not hard to see why politicians want to get simple. Almost everyone agrees that the tax system is too complicated, with too many special interest loopholes gumming up the works. By offering to make filing taxes easier, politicians are not only promising simplicity in policy, they're offering to make life less complicated for every American. And in the age of Twitter, it doesn't hurt to have an economic plan that can be summed up and understood quickly. But there's a problem, too. In Washington, almost nothing ends up being simple.
"I worked at the
Cain may have learned this already.
After critics noted that a flat 9 percent income tax would hit poor Americans the most, Cain modified his plan to include exemptions for those living near the poverty line. He also said that "Opportunity Zones," already a part of his plan to give tax incentives to those living in low-income areas, would also apply to businesses. But when one adjustment gets made, it raises the possibility that others might as well. The home mortgage interest deduction, for example, or the employer exemption for healthcare, two tax deductions which benefit millions of middle-class Americans and corporations.
This isn't the first time a presidential primary has centered on a simple-sounding policy tax proposal.
In 2008, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee shook up the
[Read how Mitt Romney got the front-runner treatment during this week's debate.]
Not everyone is following the urge for simplicity. "Simple answers are always very helpful, but often times inadequate," Romney said during the October 11
Sweeping overhauls that result in simpler systems can happen in
Twenty-five years ago, the Tax Reform Act of 1986 lowered income tax rates while removing many tax incentives, and was hammered out as a compromise between President Ronald Reagan and the
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GOP Tax Proposals: Nothing Is Simple As It Seems | Politics
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