With the Florida primary just days away, the race for the Republican nomination feels like it could be anyone’s game. The state of the economy remains a chief concern among voters. It’s important to understand what it is that each candidate hopes to bring to the table in terms of tax incentives, tax policy and tax proposals. With that in mind, I contacted each of the candidates who has officially declared an intention to run for president. To keep it simple, I asked each of the candidates the same six tax-related questions.

Next in the series is Republican candidate Buddy Roemer. I had the opportunity to speak to Roemer by phone on Friday. He previously served as the 52nd Governor of Louisiana (1988 to 1992) as a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1981 to 1988.

It was a great chat. Here’s what he had to say:

taxgirl: What’s the single most important tax issue facing Americans today?

Roemer: Trust. Taxpayers can’t read the Tax Code and they can’t trust it. It’s written by lobbyists and taxpayers don’t think it’s fair. When a company like GE can make $5.2 billion in revenue and pay no federal tax while the average working taxpayer pays a rate close to 25%, that’s not fair. We need clarification, simplicity and fairness in our Tax Code.

We need a system that is fair, simple, trustworthy and understandable.

taxgirl: If you could only make one “quick fix” in terms of an extra credit, a disallowed deduction or the like, what would it be?

Roemer: A flat rate. Under my plan, there would be a flat rate. There would be a $50,000 exemption for a family of four and there would be a flat tax of 17% on income beyond that. That means that those making less than $50,000 would pay no income tax while those making more than $100,000 would have an effective tax rate of 8.5%.

That leaves money left over to pay their property taxes, sales taxes and expenses. There would be no other federal taxes.

It is clear and simple. There are no deductions or other exemptions.

Companies and individuals would pay the same rate. There would be no double tax, no marriage penalty, no alternative minimum tax.

I would also make it a rule that a 2/3 vote would be required to change the rate. It would take 2/3 vote in the House and 2/3 vote in the Senate. Taxpayers need that consistency. I helped rewrite the Louisiana Constitution and we put that 2/3 rule in there.

It is simple, clear, fair and encourages growth.

taxgirl: The current federal estate tax exemption is $5 million for individuals or $10 million for married couples. Do you recommend lowering the exemption, boosting the exemption, keeping it at its current rate or something else altogether?

Roemer: No double taxes. No estate taxes. Under my system, you would be taxed once, not twice.

taxgirl: It has been suggested that the IRS should be eliminated. Do you believe that this makes sense, and if you do, what would you establish in its place?

Roemer: No, that doesn’t make sense. The IRS needs to be restructured, not eliminated. The IRS does a lousy job but that’s a reflection of the Tax Code.

Under my plan, the IRS would be about 5% of the current size. With a more simple Code, there is no need for a complicated system. They would deal with business expenses, random audits. 

We need a light touch, a lot of trust.

taxgirl: Do you think that significant tax cuts are possible considering the current state of the economy, specifically with respect to the issues surrounding the debt ceiling and the federal deficit?

Roemer: Excessive debt shrinks a nation. Under Obama’s current budget, there are deficits for each of the next ten years. The smallest projected deficit is one half trillion dollars. We are a nation in trouble.

We can have fairness and growth out of a flat tax. My plan allows for an explosion of growth. Growth is what we need to get over our debt hurdle.

With my plan, there would be a flat rate. It is fair, simple, trustworthy and understandable. No tax on dividends, no depreciation schedules: you would expense what you spend. We need to encourage growth, encourage modern technology.

You cannot restore wealth by raising taxes. A flat tax is more fair, more simple and everybody pays.

taxgirl: And just for fun, if Uncle Sam handed you a huge refund check right now, what would you do with it?

Roemer: Save it or pay down my debt. That goes for me as well as for the country.

I’m an investor and a banker, with a background from Harvard Business School. I come from a business background: money is what I deal with.

We are a consumer society. We’re takers, not makers. That used to not be the case. “Made in America” used to mean something. It needs to be important again. And it can be.

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You can read more about Roemer’s campaign here.

You can read more about other candidates in the series here:

Tax Talk 2012: Vern Wuensche
Tax Talk 2012: Lee Wrights
Tax Talk 2012: Tom Miller

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Want more taxgirl goodness? Sign up to receive posts by email, follow me on twitter (@taxgirl) or hang out with me on Facebook.Similar Posts:

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I’m sitting on my parents’ deck this morning, listening to the wind chimes. It’s an odd moment of quiet in the chaos that is my life. I thought I’d take a second and bang out something witty and deep about home and family and Father’s Day. But I just kept coming back to this piece that I wrote three years ago.

It’s still not about tax but I hope you’ll indulge me… and thanks to all of the men who step up every day to be a great father. It makes all of the difference in the world.

—

(Originally posted June 15, 2008)

These days, there are three important men in my life.

One is the little man pictured above, my son who just turned two this year (I am still not sure how that happened).

The second is my husband – that should go without saying. He is my best friend (yes, I know it’s corny, hopefully you didn’t just spit up your coffee) and a great father to my children. And I hope he knows that.

The third is my dad. And no, this isn’t a tax post but if you’ll indulge me for a moment, I just want to say a few things since it’s Father’s Day.

I am not altogether certain that my dad knew what to do with me – he always said that he wanted three boys and he got two and a half. There I was, a girly girl – I liked big hair and shiny shoes and poufy dresses. What was a dad to do?

Well, I’ll tell you…

It was my dad who drove me to Duke University when I was in junior high so that I could take the SATs and participate in one of their fancy programs. When I started getting college catalogues in the mail shortly thereafter, I knew who was responsible.

When my junior high civics class needed a chaperone, it was my dad who volunteered to drive the van to Washington, DC (although he did get us lost and he held my boyfriend over the toilet, but those are posts for another day).

When I decided at the age of 14 that I wanted to leave home to go to the NC School of Science and Mathematics, it was dad who packed up the car and made sure that I got there.

After I qualified for the high school Jeopardy try-outs, it was my dad who drove me down to Birmingham, Alabama so that I could give it a whirl. And he was the one who I cried to later when they chose some geeky boy over me, despite my scores.

It was my dad moved me into my dorm room at college and hunted down my Resident Advisor when one of my crazy roommates moved all of my furniture out into the hallway. This, he let them know, would not be allowed to happen.

As a junior in college, I decided to study for a year abroad in the UK. It was my dad who flew over with me to make sure that I got moved in okay and then played “dad” to two of my college peers who were attending the same college.

It was dad who drove up with me to find an apartment in Philadelphia for law school – even though time and money was short. And when the neighbors in the nearby transient “hotel” (hey, it wasn’t the greatest neighborhood) had a scuffle and threw their clothes onto the roof, dad understood that I still needed to stay (mom would have moved me out immediately).

And it was dad who helped me move into my new Philadelphia home following law school on what was a record breaking hot day even though I am fairly certain that he wanted me to come back home to NC.

My dad has let me grow up in my own way over the years – and I know that it has been hard for him. He likes being the one that pulls the strings and I know that sitting back and letting go has not been easy. But he did it. And he did it while all the while letting me think that it was all me, me, me.

I probably haven’t said “thank you” nearly enough to him for standing behind me all of this time, so dad, here’s a great big thanks. I have learned a lot from you – and no, not just how to rub chalk on a grave marker or what poison ivy looks like – but about the importance of ethics and honor and working hard and character. I am so proud to be your daughter.Similar Posts:

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Today is National Teacher’s Day. I’ve had some amazing, inspiring teachers in my lifetime. And today, it only seems right that I tell you about one of them.

I’ll admit that it was kind of hard to focus on just one teacher. But last week, in my annual “thank goodness that Tax Day has passed” trip back to my hometown, I met with three of closest friends from junior high. We had wine and coffee – and two of them may or may not have witnessed my efforts to play one of those dance competition video games – and we reminisced about the “good old days.” To be fair, I’ve never met anyone who truly loved junior high school. You’re not a little kid anymore and you’re not grown up either. It’s a bit of a struggle to figure out who you are and who you’re going to become. And everyone you meet along the way seems to have an opinion. Some opinions, however, mean more than others. And for me, the one opinion I truly valued came from Col. Maus.

Col. Maus was my algebra teacher and my math coach. He was also a former Green Beret (U.S. Army Special Forces) and would regale us from time to time with some pretty amazing stories. He didn’t take crap from anyone, including my brother: Col. Maus was the first teacher to tell my brother to take off his hat and spit out his gum and (gasp) make it happen.

Col. Maus was loud. He would bang on the chalkboard, yelling, “You know the answer, KP!” (he got a kick out of the fact that my initials also signaled Kitchen Patrol). Col. Maus didn’t let me slack off, which I appreciated. I needed some motivation from time to time. You see, I grew up in a small town where being the smart girl was a tough gig. But Col. Maus – who had seen a lot tougher gigs than that – refused to let me wallow in the preteen angst of it all. He wouldn’t let me pretend that I didn’t know an answer. He challenged me to find the answer even when he knew I was wrong. He encouraged me to be proud of earning an A and then told me to go after the extra credit. He shamed me into trying out for the math team and then reminded me that I was capable of besting my boyfriend on the test to make the team (he was right).

When we were training for competition, he took our rag tag bunch of math geeks to his lovely antebellum home on the river and served us a proper lunch. He never talked down to us, he expected us to rise up to him. He wouldn’t accept “I can’t” as an answer. He would say, when we were struggling, “Press on.” And we did.

I know that not everyone was a fan of Col. Maus. Some parents (and students) felt that he was too hard, too strict, too loud. But I loved him for it. It was exactly what I needed. I had big dreams of leaving my hometown and doing something different with my life; that was difficult to reconcile when I had folks close to me that constantly talked down the idea of girls getting a basic education or (horrors) going on to college. But with Col. Maus, I had a cheering section, I had a friend and I had a hero.

Teachers make a difference. They affect lives in ways that might not be apparent when kids are young and still searching for who they are. Teachers do far more than just relay facts and figures – heck, anyone can get that on the internet these days. Teachers help us become our best selves. In this latest round of federal and state spending cuts and revenue balancing, let’s not forget that.

Press on.

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If you’re in the greater Philadelphia area, I’ll be making an appearance on 98.1 FM (WOGL) with Ross Brittain & The Breakfast Club tomorrow, April 13, from 6:30a.m. to 8:00a.m.

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Every year for the past couple of years, I’ve chatted with the folks on the Big Dumb Fun Show, a fun and irreverent radio show. This year is no different. It’s one of my favorite media appearances. Tune in on the internet tonight at 8:45pm EST and see why!Similar Posts:

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This just in:

CNBC is looking for an individual who has had or is having an issue with evading their taxes. We wish to interview someone who had been caught and has had a civil judgement against them. We would like to do this interview today, Wednesday, March 30th. If you are interested, contact americantaxcheat@cnbc.com.

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It’s tax time again. As folks rush around to get their tax returns done, scammers and bad guys have found ways to make a quick buck by taking advantage of taxpayers who are looking for tax assistance. I wrote a piece about this issue for AOL’s Walletpop and yesterday, made a late night appearance on the Jim Bohannon Show to discuss it. You can catch my interview here (my bit is about 40 minutes in).Similar Posts:

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With the significant increase in the personal exemption for federal estate tax (albeit temporary), many folks believe that they no longer need a will. That couldn’t be further from the truth: there are a lots of non-tax reasons to have a will (I just rolled back in from Center City with three of them: my kids). I had the opportunity to chat with Ashlea Ebeling of Forbes about this very thing. You can read her interview here.Similar Posts:

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I was on the radio Saturday night – late, my time – on KGO. You can listen to the clip here (I’m on at about minute 47). I’m talking about deductions (you can read the piece we’re talking about here).

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