Perry's new tax plan

Rick Perry is going to reveal his plan to make a more simply federal tax with a flat income tax rate. I wonder if this will help or hurt Perry, who struggled a little in the first few debates. Cain’s 9-9-9 tax plan certainly got him a lot of extra attention and made him the front runner of the GOP candidates. With that said Cain has had a lot of criticism and scrutiny for his plan so we will see what happens with Perry’s plan. So far no one has heard any details on the plan but Perry did say that his plan will be “flatter and fairer” than Cain’s tax plan. Even without much detail, the announcement of the unveiling of Perry’s plan has got people talking. Steve Forbs said that the plan “will rip out this ten million word monstrosity.” Forbes was of course referring to the tax code in place now. Forbes thinks the good things like risk taking and productive work will have a lower price and that Perry’s plan will get rid of the “corruption in Washington.” Forbes isn’t the only one excited for the plan; Sarah Palin is endorsing it as well. The liberals however are not so quick to accept Perry’s idea. Liberal groups think it will raise taxes on the lower and middle classes and not the wealthier people.

The main idea of the flat tax is to replace the current income tax rates with just one, which would be paid by everyone.  According to Forbes, Perry’s plan will be different from Cain’s because it wont have a national sales tax. Cain’s plan has this as well as a 9 percent flat tax on corporate and personal income. Even with all the support Cain has gotten with is flat tax rate, there are many people who do not like the idea of a flat tax, whether it be Cain or Perry’s plan. Most of the criticism stems from the idea that the flat tax eliminates the progressive system we have now with the current tax code. With the progressive system, higher earners pay higher tax rates on their income. People who support the progressive tax systems believe it is important to “social fairness” because other taxes are regressive.

I can’t form a clear opinion on Perry’s plan until he reveals more details but I definitely think it’s a smart move on his part. Up until now, Cain was the only candidate with a clear-cut plan to fix the economy. With this build up to what Perry’s plan will be gets the attention from the media focused on him. Now he has something to compare to Cain and to separate him form other rivals like Romney. This could be just what Perry needs to make himself a front-runner in the race.

Here's a link to Perry introduces his tax plan:
http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7385271n