Apparently someone needs to explain to this former IRS tax attorney what the definition of a "flat tax" is. Michele Bachmann's been tanking in the recent polls for the GOP presidential primary race and I suspect way too many moments like this one have a lot to do with it.
From ABC's This Week:
AMANPOUR: Well, on that issue, thank you for clearing up what you said last week. But let me just ask you one final question about your opponents. You have basically said that Governor Perry is taking and as you said, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, taking your ideas when it comes to his tax proposals. But he's talking about a flat tax and you're not, really. How do you consider that taking your ideas?
BACHMANN: My tax plan is unique in that, unlike any of the other plans, my plan calls for every American to pay something when it comes to federal income taxes, because today 51 percent of Americans pay no federal income tax. This needs to change. We're at a tipping point now. Everyone needs to pay something. And so I take a page from Ronald Reagan and the economic miracle that was wrought in the 1980s. Reagan flattened the tax rates and he simplified them.
Now, because he was working with a Democrat Congress, he couldn't abolish the U.S. tax code. I would abolish the United States federal tax code, and in its place, I would flatten the rates and simplify them. I would not have just one rate, but I'd have several rates, which is a flattened, simple, much fairer system, and one that would be equitable and raise revenues for the federal government as well.
AMANPOUR: On that note, Congresswoman Bachmann, thank you so much for joining us.
BACHMANN: Thank you and good morning.
EDITOR'S NOTE: This is the same IRS tax attorney who always puts dollar amounts on "blank checks."
