Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush called for slashing individual and corporate income tax rates and canceling “special breaks” in a new tax plan Wednesday, saying he wanted a system that didn’t show favoritism for anyone.
He proposed consolidating the seven federal income tax brackets into three, with tax rates of 28 percent, 25 percent and 10 percent, and cutting the federal corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 20 percent.
Mr. Bush said his plan would push the economy toward 4 percent annual growth — a rate that would create 19 million new jobs over eight years, according to his campaign.
“My plan works whether you’re on Main Street or Wall Street. No special favors. No special breaks,” Mr. Bush said, addressing a crowd at Morris & Associates, a manufacturing business in Garner, North Carolina.
The 4 percent growth target has become an unlikely political debate this year. Conservatives argue it’s both possible and necessary to hit that mark in order to produce the kinds of jobs and tax revenue needed to sustain the government. But liberals say that kind of growth is difficult to achieve and impossible to sustain.
Mr. Bush said that amounted to doubting American workers.
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He said under his plan, a family of four earning less than $40,000 would not face any federal income taxes other than the payroll tax that goes to cover Social Security and Medicare.
He also wants to get rid of the “carried interest” loophole, where certain dividends are taxed not as regular income, but at a lower rate for capital gains, and Mr. Bush tried to offer somewhat of a “pre-buttal” to criticism that his plan would favor the wealthy.
“I think we all know the same old song the left will sing about this plan — in fact, it’s already in the blogosphere; the Twitter feed is going crazy right now,” he said. “So let’s get the record straight up front. Under my plan bills will be going down … but those earning $200,000 or more will bear a greater share of our income tax burden than they do today. So the top 5 percent will bear a greater share. And the top 10 percent as well.”
Mr. Bush has been trying to jump-start his presidential campaign after a summer that has seen him slip behind billionaire businessman Donald Trump in the polls, and on Wednesday Mr. Bush poked at the front-runner, lumping him in with Democratic front-runner Hillary Rodham Clinton.
“Through hard work and ingenuity, and know how, as we have always done, we will compete with the world and yeah — we will win,” Mr. Bush said. “Senator Clinton and Mr. Trump may not believe we can do it, but I sure as heck do, and I know you do as well.”
Mr. Trump has said hedge fund employees are likely to pay more under his yet-to-be-released tax plan, and he has also suggested that a tariff on Mexico could pay for the wall he wants to build along the U.S.-Mexico border.
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Mr. Bush mocked such talk about walls and tariffs as “a siren call of surrender” for American businesses.
“I won’t go for it and I hope you won’t, either,” the former governor said. “Protectionism has never worked. It forces prices up. It restricts choices. It kills jobs.”
The Democratic National Committee, meanwhile, called Mr. Bush’s proposal “an even more extreme plan” than that of his brother, former President George W. Bush.
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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