Very Interesting: McCain Channeling Fred Thompson’s Tax Plan

Sean Hackbarth of The American Mind covered John McCain’s economic speech Tuesday, which had some new news-making ideas:

McCain has said he wants to drop the corporate tax rate from 35% to 25% and preserve President Bush’s tax cuts. He also reaffirmed his free trade stance. That puts him in stark contrast to Smoot-Hawley Democrats like Sens. Clinton and Obama. The new elements include doubling the exemption for a child or dependent from $3500 to $7000, allowing businesses to expense new equipment purchases in the first year, ban internet and new mobile phone taxes, and make the R&D tax credit permanent.

The news-making proposal is ditching the federal gas tax over the summer. Of course by McCain’s logic on the Bush tax cuts reinstating the gas tax after Labor Day would amount to a tax hike.

Here’s the part that sounds strangely familiar to Fredheads:

The most surprising element of McCain’s plan is an optional simplified tax system. It would have “two tax rates and a generous standard deduction.”

Last fall, Fred Thompson issued a tax plan that included an optional flat tax with two tax rates and a generous standard deduction. Another element of the Thompson plan was reducing corporate tax rates.

I don’t know if Thompson and McCain have spent any time together since McCain became the GOP nominee. Like a wrote above McCain for some time has been talking about cutting the corporate tax rate. The optional alternative tax came out of the blue. I wonder how much influence Thompson had?

Nice Deb knows. Nice Deb knows all.

I just felt a tingle go up my leg.

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