Flat Tax Unleashes Economic Growth
Rick Perry

President Obama and other establishment politicians believe Washington can be fixed with a pair of tweezers. I believe it will require a sledgehammer.

Americans suffering in the Obama economy deserve more than lukewarm proposals that tinker around the margins. That is why I have proposed a Cut, Balance and Grow plan that will jolt our economy back to life by cutting taxes and spending, balancing the budget by 2020, and growing private sector jobs.

Central to the plan is giving every American the option of throwing out the 72,000 pages of the current tax code and replacing it with a simple 20 percent flat tax.

I believe Americans will embrace the flat tax for a number of reasons. It cuts taxes for Americans in every income group, increases the standard deduction to $12,500, and retains deductions for mortgage interest, charitable donations, and state and local taxes. It simplifies the filing process, allowing taxpayers to complete their returns in minutes and submit them on a postcard. And it will save Americans up to $483 billion in annual compliance costs.

My plan also eliminates the death tax, the long-term capital gains tax, and the tax on Social Security benefits.

But most importantly, my plan unleashes economic growth. It not only gives families more money to spend, it provides employers strong incentives to grow and create millions of jobs.

Today, America's corporate tax rate is the second highest in the developed world and it is riddled with loopholes that allow the biggest companies with the best lawyers to avoid paying any taxes whatsoever.

My flat tax proposal ends the gravy train of lobbyists and lawyers feeding at the government trough by eliminating the dozens of carve-outs that disadvantage small businesses. It lowers the tax rate to the average in other developed nations so American employers of all sizes are more competitive in the global marketplace. And it ends the double taxation of profits American companies earn overseas, providing a huge incentive for employers to build new factories and create millions of jobs here at home.

The flat tax I propose, combined with the real spending reductions and a commitment to balance the budget by 2020, will bring sweeping change to Washington's spendthrift culture and get America working again.

Gov. Rick Perry has been governor of Texas since 2000. He is currently running for president