2012 ELECTION

[HairOfTheDog]

Oh lord, lead us to the door that opens unto "flat taxland"

That prayer will definitely go unanswered for at least the next 4 years.

Gingrich had proposed a flat income tax option of 15% and corporate tax cut from 35% to 12.5%. He's out.

Cain's 9 / 9 / 9 flat tax for personal income and corporate income really interested me. Also his alternative to Social Security was intriguing. He's out.

So, now the choices left are:

Ron Paul wants to extend the Bush-era income tax rates til they expire in 2013 and then end income tax altogether and get rid of the IRS; lower corporate tax from 35% to 15%. He's got no chance of winning, imo. He, of course, opposes mandatory health care coverage.

Obama who wants to end the Bush-era income tax rates for those making over $250k and extend them for everyone else until they expire. He proposes to lower corp tax to 20 - 25% (with credits for those who pull outsourced business back to US, no impact to me). I think the additional Buffet tax of min 30% for those making over $1 million is now officially dead, for the time being (also didn't impact me, damn it).

Romney who wants to extend the Bush-era income tax rates for everyone until they expire; including those who make over $250k and lower corp tax to 25%.

Romney promises to repeal Obama's mandatory individual health care mandate (seen as a tax by many, but how long would that take?). For business owners, it offers cheaper employee coverage options than some have now and adds extra expense to others of us.

Economy (including employment) and taxes; two key issues for me.

I may really end up voting for Ron Paul depending on what we learn in the debates (looking for solid promises and plans).