Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann one-upped the competition when instead of sticking with the routine “no new taxes” mantra being recited, she suggested “no taxes.”
Well, not forever.
Bachmann indicated that she would support a one year moratorium on federal income taxes.
Wow, right?
Bachmann made the comments in response to a question posed by Don Gorman, a former state representative for New Hampshire and considered “the most-elected libertarian in the country.” Gorman asked Bachmann what she thought about his suggestion to:
Put a moratorium on the entire income tax for one year for every citizen in this country and watch this country take off.
Bachmann called the notion “awesome” and went on to say that if taxpayers could keep their own money, it would been great for the economy:
If we would have allowed every American to take that much more money home in their pockets, what would they have done? They would have paid their bills. They would have spent it. They would have grown their businesses. They would have grown the economy.
Er, sure.
But how would we keep the lights on in D.C.? You know, pay the military? Pave the roads? Keep the courthouse doors open? Protect our national security?
That’s kind of what taxes do. They pay for stuff.
And while I’m not suggesting that D.C. is necessarily spending wisely, we’re not running a surplus. In fact, we have a pretty nasty debt load right about now. Cutting spending is a good thing (agreed) but eliminating a fairly important revenue source at the same time? Um, not so much. Like it or not, we’re dependent as a nation to some degree on taxes.
Of course, Bachmann should know a little something about taxes. Like me, she has her post-law degree LL.M. (Masters of Law) in tax – hers is from the William & Mary School of Law. After graduation, she worked at the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) which gave her some insight into how the agency works.
Bachmann’s background will certainly come up as the race continues, since she has made taxes a key platform issue in her campaign, saying:
I will lead the way in cutting spending, reducing taxes and deep-sixing our 3.8 million-word Internal Revenue Code so companies can invest again. As a first order of business, I will direct the elimination of counterproductive regulations, repeal Obamacare and stop cap-and-trade in its tracks so companies can operate again. And a Bachmann Administration will create the climate of sound currency and certainty employers needed to start hiring again.
Deep-sixing the IRC? Throwing out the Tax Code is a bit more dramatic than a one year moratorium on taxes. It’s also not going to happen but then, you and I understand that this is what politicians do come campaign season: they say a lot of stuff designed to get your attention. And Bachmann certainly has the nation’s attention. She’s proving to be a contender in the Republican race for the nomination, trailing just behind Mitt Romney in Iowa and she is showing strong numbers in New Hampshire and South Carolina.
So maybe some of the tax talk at the Bachmann camp is just rhetoric. It’s clearly popular rhetoric. Who among us wouldn’t want to skip paying taxes for a year or so?
Drama aside, focusing on lowering and reforming taxes as a priority in a sinking economy is a smart move politically. As the race heats up, I suspect we’ll see Bachmann distance herself a little from the more dramatic tax policy matters and focus on those key issues that are making headlines: reducing and reforming corporate taxes, lowering tax rates and repealing federal estate tax. Those topics are hot on Bachmann’s tax wish list and play to her most ardent supporters.
That isn’t to say that the notion of a moratorium on taxes won’t come up again. This isn’t the first time the idea has made the rounds. Representative Louis Gohmert (R-TX) made a similar, more limited proposal in 2008. He suggested, in the midst of all of the TARP bailouts, that the feds grant a two month holiday on federal income and FICA taxes to individuals, so that taxpayers could keep more money in their own pockets. It made for some good press at the time but didn’t go anywhere – but let’s not forget that good press being a pretty desirable commodity in a presidential race.
Bachmann’s willingness to entertain the “no taxes” idea will clearly paint her as an outsider in Washington. And maybe that’s what she’s after, kind of that McCain/Palin “maverick” vibe from 2008. If nothing else, it’s certainly getting her some attention. And in a tight presidential nomination race, that means a lot.
