Candidates' positions are categorized as Pro (Yes), Con (No), Not Clearly Pro or Con, or None Found. Candidates who have changed their positions are listed as Now their most recent position. Candidates are listed by party and in alphabetical order by last name. Black & white photos indicate candidates who have withdrawn or who no longer meet our criteria for inclusion.
Gary Johnson, former Governor of New Mexico, stated the following in a speech to the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington, DC on Feb. 11, 2011:
"When I talk about any of this, raising taxes is absolutely unacceptable. Raising taxes in this country is not acceptable. We should eliminate the corporate income tax if we really want to bring about a situation where this country is going to be the place to start up and incubate and grow businesses, in this country." Feb. 11, 2011 Gary Johnson
Barack Obama, 44th President of the United States, stated the following in the "Presidential Memorandum--President's Plan for Economic Growth and Deficit Reduction," posted on the White House website on Sep. 19, 2011:
"[T]he plan calls for the Congress to undertake comprehensive tax reform that... observes the Buffett Rule -- that people making more than $1 million a year should not pay a smaller share of their income in taxes than middle-class families pay.
...I also included specific tax loophole closers and measures to broaden the tax base. Together with the expiration of the high-income tax cuts from 2001 and 2003, these measures would be more than enough to reach this $1.5 trillion target. They include cutting tax preferences for high-income households, eliminating tax breaks for oil and gas companies, closing the carried interest loophole for investment fund managers, and eliminating benefits for those who use corporate jets...
This plan lives up to a simple idea: as a Nation, we can live within our means while still making the investments we need to prosper. It follows a balanced approach: asking everyone to do their part, so no one has to bear all the burden. And it says that everyone -- including millionaires and billionaires -- has to pay their fair share." Sep. 19, 2011 Barack Obama
Mitt Romney, former Governor of Massachusetts, stated the following during the Fox News/Washington Examiner Republican presidential debate held at Iowa State University in Ames, IA on Aug. 11, 2011:
"I don‘t believe in raising taxes. And as governor I cut taxes 19 times and didn‘t raise taxes." Aug. 11, 2011 Mitt Romney
Jill Stein, MD, former Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, stated the following during an interview with Paul Jay of The Real News Network, "Why Is the Green Party's Jill Stein Running to Be President?," available at therealnews.com (accessed July 17, 2012):
"...[W]e're calling for a fair tax system. So we have, for example, a financial transaction tax, which would bring hundreds of billions of dollars into the economy; an offshore tax haven tax; and a progressive tax on millionaires and billionaires." July 17, 2012 Jill Stein
Michele Bachmann, US Representative (R-MN), stated the following in an article by Stephen Moore titled "'On the Beach I Bring von Mises,'" published in the Wall Street Journal on June 11, 2011:
"In my perfect world we'd take the 35% corporate tax rate down to nine so that we're the most competitive in the industrialized world. Zero out capital gains. Zero out the alternative minimum tax. Zero out the death tax." June 11, 2011 Michele Bachmann
Herman Cain, Former Chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City and Chairman of Godfather's Pizza, stated the following during the Bloomberg News/Washington Post Republican presidential debate held at Dartmouth College on Oct. 11, 2011:
"9-9-9 [Herman Cain's economic growth plan], will pass, and it is not the price of pizza because, it has been well-studied and well-developed. It starts with, unlike your proposals, throwing out the current tax code. Continuing to pivot off the current tax code is not going to boost this economy.
This is why we developed 9-9-9 -- 9 percent corporate business flat tax, 9 percent personal income flat tax, and a 9 percent national sales tax. And it will pass, Senator, because the American people want it to pass." Oct. 11, 2011 Herman Cain
[Editor's Note:Currently there is no national sales tax. Sales taxes are set by state and local governments. Therefore a new national sales tax would necessarily be an increase in federal taxes. The following states have no sales tax at all: Alaska, Delaware, New Hampshire, Montana, and Oregon.]
Newt Gingrich, former Speaker of the US House of Representatives (R-GA), stated the following in an article titled "The Gingrich Jobs and Prosperity Plan," posted on his official campaign website, Newt.org (accessed Oct. 11, 2011):
"Stop the 2013 tax increases to promote stability in the economy. Job creation improved after Congress extended tax relief for two years in December. We should make the rates permanent. Make the United States the most desirable location for new business investment through a bold series of tax cuts, including: Eliminating the capital gains tax to make American entrepreneurs more competitive against those in other countries; Dramatically reducing the corporate income tax(among highest in the world) to 12.5%; Allowing for 100% expensing of new equipment to spur innovation and American manufacturing; Ending the death tax permanently." Oct. 11, 2011 Newt Gingrich
Jon Huntsman, former Governor of Utah, stated the following during the Sep. 22, 2011 Fox News Republican debate held in Orlando, FL:
"We're not going to raise taxes. This is the worst time to be raising taxes, and everybody knows that. We need to grow. We need to be reminded of what Ronald Reagan told us so beautifully, that which is great about America, freedom. We need to re-establish freedom in the marketplace. We need to address our underlying structural problems that we have. And in order to do that, we're going to have to fix our taxes. And we put forward a program endorsed by the Wall Street Journal that phases out for individuals all the loopholes, all the deductions, and creates three rates, 8, 14, 23. On the corporate side, it phases out all of the corporate welfare, all of the subsidies, and it gets it from 35 percent to 25 percent. This is exactly where we need to be. We need to grow; we need to create jobs. This is not a point in time where we should be raising taxes.” Sep. 22, 2011 Jon Huntsman
Ron Paul, US Representative (R-TX), wrote the following in his article titled "S&P States the Obvious," posted on thedailybell.com on Aug. 16, 2011:
"Taking capital out of the private sector, where it can create real value in the form of new jobs and products, and instead giving it to Washington to waste and squander is not the solution. Tax increases may seem penny-wise to some, but in reality they would be very pound-foolish. The government currently takes in $2.2 trillion in taxes per year, which is far too much already. It spends $3.7 trillion, which is ridiculous and criminal. The problem is runaway government spending, not the American people having too much money." Aug. 16, 2011 Ron Paul
Rick Perry, Governor of Texas, posted the following in the "About" section of his official campaign website, rickperry.org (accessed Oct. 12, 2011):
"Instead of wasting tax dollars on massive spending bills that bloat the federal bureaucracy and slowly deliver funds to a few handpicked industries, Perry will cut taxes." Oct. 12, 2011 Rick Perry
Buddy Roemer, former Governor of Louisiana, stated the following in his campaign site posting, "Tax Reform," available at www.buddyroemer.com (accessed Oct. 31, 2011):
"Buddy Roemer's plan would set the size of federal government to about 18 to 18.5 percent of GDP – currently it is at about 25.5 percent.
Income taxes would be simplified to a flat tax, with an individual exemption of $50,000. A flat tax of 17 percent would be paid on all income beyond that. This means that individuals making $50,000 or less would pay no income tax, while those making more than $100,000 would have an effective tax rate of 8.5 percent.
Elimination of the Alternative Minimum Tax, the Earned Income Credit and most deductions would be key to this plan, to simplify and standardize complicated tax laws.
Unlike other plans that have been put forward, this plan would have no national sales tax, which would have devastating effects on the economy, particularly for the poorest Americans who spend a higher percentage of their income.
As president, Buddy Roemer will work to close all tax loopholes for corporations and ensure that the tax system is fair for everyone in it." Oct. 31, 2011 Buddy Roemer
Rick Santorum, former US Senator (R-PA), stated the following during the Fox News/Washington Examiner Republican presidential debate held at Iowa State University in Ames, IA on Aug. 11, 2011:
"The problem is that we have spending that has exploded. Government has averaged 18 percent of GDP as — as a percentage of the overall economy that government eats up. And we‘re now at almost 25 percent. Revenues are down about 2 or 3 percent. So if you look at where the problem is, the president is in spending, not taxes. And we‘ll get those taxes up if we grow the economy. I put forward the plan to grow the economy and I‘ve provided leadership in the past to get bipartisan things done. You know, I — I sympathize with Michele Bachmann, who stands up and says, I‘m going to stand firm on these things. You need to stand firm on these things. But you can‘t stand and say you give me everything I want or I‘ll vote no. You have to find the principles, like I did on welfare reform. I said three things — to cut a federal entitlement, to end it, the three things we wanted to accomplish, end a federal entitlement, which we did. We wanted to require work, which we did. And we wanted to put a time limit on welfare. We did those three things. We compromised on everything else. I didn‘t get everything I wanted, but I got the core of what I wanted and we transformed welfare. You need leaders, you need people who are good at leadership, not showmanship.
[Byron] YORK: But just confirming, Senator, you would not negotiate on raising taxes?
SANTORUM: Absolutely not, because it‘s not the problem. And the Democrats know it‘s not the problem. This is where leadership comes in. You go to the American public and you lay out the facts. I‘ve been traveling around Iowa and I lay out the facts to people and they nod their heads, and they say, yes, this makes sense.We need to get the economy growing. That doesn‘t mean taking more money out of it, that means — making — that means creating energy jobs, creating manufacturing jobs. And my plan will do that." Aug. 11, 2011 Rick Santorum