“It's tragic that President Obama cannot learn that class warfare and bureaucratic socialism kill jobs… On tax policy, you ought to say no tax increase in 2013, period. Go to zero capitals gains so hundreds of billions of dollars pour into the country to be invested. Go to a 12.5 percent with corporate tax rate… you ought to abolish the death tax permanently, because it is an immoral tax which says, if you work, save and do the right thing your entire lifetime, politicians have the right to take your money.
 
Let me be clear. I am for more revenue through economic growth. I'm for more revenue through the development of federal lands. I'm for more revenue through an American energy policy, but I'm against raising taxes.”
Sep. 5, 2011 Newt Gingrich

[Editor's Note: According to the Tax Policy Center, the top 1% would receive an average tax cut of $343, 993 in 2015 under Newt Gingrich's tax plan. Citizens for Tax Justice estimates that Gingrich's tax plan would produce an average tax cut of $391,330 for the top 1% of Americans. Bloomberg News reports that Americans earning more than $1 million a year would receive an average tax cut of $613,689 in 2015 compared to what they paid in 2011. Think Progress estimates that the richest 0.1% of Americans would receive a tax cut worth $2 million each year under Gingrich's tax plan.]

"Gov. Huntsman supports a version of the plan crafted by the Fiscal Commission, headed by Erskine Bowles and Alan Simpson, commonly known as the 'zero plan'. Rather than nibble around the edges of the existing tax code, he will introduce a revenue-neutral plan that eliminates all deductions and credits in favor of three drastically lower rates of 8%, 14% and 23%. Eliminating deductions and credits in favor of lower marginal rates will yield a simpler and more efficient tax code, decreasing the burden on taxpayers...

[In addition, Jon Huntsman wants to eliminate] taxes on capital gains and dividends."
Jan. 17, 2012 Jon Huntsman

[Editor's Note:  As of 2011, the current top federal income tax bracket for American income earners is 35%. Jon Huntsman wants to reduce the top income tax bracket from 35% to 23% according to his campaign website page "Time to Compete, An American Jobs Plan: Tax Reform" referenced above. The campaign website page, www.jon2012, also states that he wants to eliminate taxes on capital gains and dividend income which are typically forms of income for the wealthiest Americans.  Because of these considerations, we have labeled him CON to our question.]

"Wolf Blitzer:  What do you think about the Presidents support today for a proposal in the Senate for a 5.6% millionaires surcharge on income over a million dollars, paying an additional 5.6% [in taxes]... Good idea?

Ron Paul:  No it's not going to do any good at all, its not a lack of taxation that's going on, there is just too much spending...

I don't mind criticizing, you know, the wealthy at times, and I criticized the bankers, and the bailouts, and the corporate people who got all the benifits, both when the financial bubble was being built, but then when it burst they got bailed out and then the people suffered.

But this does not mean that we should attack wealth for the sake of wealth. We should stop all the subsidies to the wealth, anybody who is getting wealthy because they get contracts from the government or because they are on the inside of the program where they get the bail outs, that's quite a bit different, we should stop that, but not blanketly penalize people who make wealth and who have created wealth...

The system has been biased against the middle class and the poor, when you destroy a currency you transfer wealth from the middle class to the wealthy."
Oct. 6, 2011 Ron Paul

"Central to my plan is giving every American the option of throwing out the three million words of the current tax code, and the costs of complying with that code, in order to pay a 20 percent flat tax on their income... Taxes will be cut across all income groups in America."
Oct. 25, 2011 Rick Perry

"My plan would be a progressive flat tax of 17 percent with an individual exemption of $50,000 and the elimination of most deductions. Under this plan, individuals making $50,000 or less would pay no federal taxes, those making $100,000 would have an effective tax rate of 8.5 percent, and someone making $500,000 would have an effective tax rate of 15.3 percent."
Dec. 23, 2011 Buddy Roemer

[Editor's Note:  As of 2011, the current top federal income tax bracket for American income earners is 35%. Buddy Roemer wants to reduce the top income tax bracket from 35% to 15.3% according to his campaign website page "Free Trade Only Means That America Is Giving Jobs Away for Free," referenced above, therefore, we have labeled him con to our question.]

"Rick Santorum is committed to reviving our economy, restoring economic growth, and creating jobs in America again by unleashing innovation and entrepreneurship through lower and simpler taxes for American businesses, workers, and families...

The Santorum Solution...

Cut and simplify personal income taxes by cutting the number of tax rates to just two - 10% and 28% and return to Reagan era pro-growth tax rate...

Simplify the tax code and reduce middle income taxes by eliminating the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT)...

Lower the Capital Gains and Dividend tax rates to 12% to spur economic growth and investment..."
Rick Santorum

[Editor's Note:  According to a Jan. 6, 2012 analysis by Citizens for Tax Justice (CTJ):  "Former Senator Rick Santorum’s $9.4 trillion tax plan would give the richest one percent of Americans an average tax cut of $217,500."  Rick Santorum's tax plan would lower the top tax bracket, currently at 35%, down to 28%.  In addition he wants lower taxes on capital gains and dividend income which are significant forms of income for the wealthiest Americans.  For these resons we have labeled him Con to our question.]