Tim Pawlenty Archives

Presidential Candidate Tim Pawlenty Doesn’t Want to Bore You with the Gory Details About How He’ll Pay for His Proposed Tax Cuts

Former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty wants to cut taxes. He’s a Republican after all and Grover Norquist probably has lewd photos and several sternly-worded letters waiting in the wings should TP give the impression that he’ll do anything but slash rates.

Pawlenty’s plan calls for two rates, 10% for on the first $50k/$100k (single, married) earned and 25% for anything above that. He’s also proposing a flat 15% corporate tax rate. He would eliminate the capital gains, dividends, interest and estate taxes.

Pretty expensive proposition so it’s got to be paid for, right? Pawlenty’s got a plan for that too:

To pay for the tax cuts, Pawlenty said he would eliminate unspecified tax loopholes and subsidies. “The Tax Code is littered with special interest handouts, carve-outs, subsidies and loopholes,” he said. “That should be eliminated.”

This is one of those instances where a reporter may ask the follow-up question, “Governor, which tax credits would you eliminate?” To which Pawlenty answers, “Yes.”

[via AT]

Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty Has the Perfect Catalyst for Tax Reform

And Doug Shulman will not like it. Or Charlie Rangel. OR Tim Geithner.

The rumored Presidential hopeful simply would like to see the members of Congress pick up a copy of TurboTax from their local OfficeMax™, grab their W-2s and 1099s and crank out their own 1040.

“No help of an accountant, a lawyer or a tax specialist,” he said in an interview on ABC’s “Good Morning America.”

“And if they can’t do it, we give them a certification they can go get some help. But I’d like every one of those individuals to have to do their own taxes every year and live with the mindless burdens we put on the American people.”

And before you get all “what’s good for the goose” on TP, he’s got a tax-form anecdote for you:

Pawlenty lamented that he recently filled out a W-9 that had four pages of instructions for a half-page form.

Now, hold it right there. Filling out a W-9 doesn’t exactly qualify as “preparing a tax return.” If you want to dive into the nitty gritty of any of these forms, then we’ll listen to your beef but don’t waste our time with “four pages of instructions for a half-page form.” That’s child’s play.

Pawlenty: No tax help for Congress [Politico via MinnPost]