Tax Reform is Key to Recovery, Candidate Tells Locals

US Senate candidate Dan Hughes endorses a familiar plan for tax reform and economic reform in this editorial.

We have a leadership crisis in this country, and it is clearly evident in the issue of tax reform. We all agree, Democrats, independents and Republicans alike, that our current tax code is complex, costly and makes us uncompetitive in the world marketplace. These ingredients make for a ripe opportunity to achieve leadership success. Except that we don’t have effective leaders in Washington.

Effective leaders can paint the positive vision of the future and then implement the policies and mechanisms to lead people there. Barack Obama and many Democrat and Republican leaders fail on the second part of effectiveness: implementation. And good leaders don’t let waiting for perfection stand in the way of implementing things that are really good. Frankly, I am all for any of the proposed solutions including flat tax and fair tax. I even had my own 18-12-2 plan for a while. The point is, none are perfect and we need leadership to implement a solution.

I endorse 9-9-9 because I recognize that it is fair, simple, competitive and revenue neutral. When implemented, it will unleash growth that will increase revenue. It has a poverty level exemption, elements of fair and flat tax, and is transparent, which will make it difficult for legislators to change or add hidden taxes to it later. And most importantly, legislation for 9-9-9 is nearly complete and has been written outside of DC and outside of the influence of special interests.

As a current small business owner and a former employee of major corporations including General Motors (in the 80’s and early 90’s), and as a Pepperdine MBA graduate, I have taken the time to vet 9-9-9 and I have confirmed that it is much fairer, less complex and will make our businesses more competitive than the current tax code. As with any of the tax reform solutions, you can poke holes in it. But by and large, it is a far better than what we’ve got.

Let’s elect leaders to send to Washington that have the ability to get us back on track!