Giuliani Campaign Press Release - Rudy Giuliani is the Real Fiscal Conservative

"I believe in supply-side economics. It's not just a theory for me – I've done it and I've seen it work."

"At a time when many Americans are worried about the economy, now is the right time to cut taxes so we can put America back on a pro-growth path towards future prosperity. Fiscal Conservative Republicans remember what Ronald Reagan taught us: when you cut taxes you liberate the potential of the American people…and you unlock the genius of our free market economy."

-Mayor Rudy Giuliani

As Chief Executive of America's largest city, Mayor Rudy Giuliani proposed 64 tax cuts and succeeded 23 times – working with a Democratic City Council and a Democratic State Assembly. By the end of his eight years in office, he had reduced New Yorkers' tax burden by 19% – down to its lowest level in decades. Not only was this the largest tax reduction of any local or state government in the country in the 1990's, but Mayor Giuliani delivered more tax relief to his constituents than all of the other Republican candidates combined.

Mayor Giuliani believes that our next President must fight for economic policies that lower the tax burden on hard-working people and job-creating businesses while eliminating the wasteful spending in Washington. His tax cut plan – the most aggressive of anyone running for President – will spark the engine of our economy and help America grow our way out of the long-term fiscal challenges we face.

When the federal income tax was first introduced in 1913, you could file on one page. The federal tax code is now over 9 million words (the Constitution is roughly 5000 words by comparison[1]), and Americans spend nearly 6.5 billion hours each year filling out tax forms, keeping records and learning tax rules, according to the OMB. The costs of complying with federal income taxes is $200 billion each year.[2]

Mayor Giuliani's plan – the Fair and Simple Tax (FAST) form – will give all American taxpayers the option of filling out their taxes on a single page again. It has three rates – 10-15-30 – cutting the current 6 tax brackets in half. It will offer all Americans the opportunity for a tax cut while preserving the major deductions that people have come to depend upon: mortgage interest, charity, state & local taxes, the child tax credit, the personal exemption and the new Healthcare exclusion. The FAST form would allow people to opt between it and the regular federal tax code every year, depending on which made the most economic sense for them.

How would the FAST form benefit families in Florida?

• A family of four earning $80,000 per year could see their estimated federal income tax burden reduced by $2,207 – or 24%.

• A family of four earning $120,000 per year could see their estimated federal income tax burden reduced by $7,014 – or 36%.

To view a copy of the FAST form please click here: http://www.joinrudy2008.com/pages/taxform

When businesses thrive, workers thrive – and vice versa. We need to keep America competitive in the global economy. America currently has the second highest corporate tax in the industrialized world. We're going to cut the corporate tax rate from 35% to 25% – below the average of other industrialized nations – helping American businesses compete while protecting and growing American jobs.

A growth economy lifts people out of poverty and helps them achieve the American Dream. But the Estate Tax – sometimes called the Death Tax – amounts to an assault on the American Dream, forcing people to sell family farms or small businesses to pay the tax collector. In 2007, Americans paid an estimated $19 billion in estate taxes.[3] In 2010, the estate tax will fall to zero for one year, but in 2011 the number of families paying the tax will skyrocket by 260%, and Americans will pay over $40 billion in estate taxes.[4] That's why we need to give the Death Tax the Death Penalty – once and for all.

Some Democrats seem to want to penalize success. Rudy Giuliani wants America to be a country that rewards success. That's why we should cut the Capital Gains Tax from 15% to 10% and index capital gains for inflation – spurring private sector investment in a growth economy.

The AMT is an example of the unintended consequences of Congressional over-reaction. It was created in 1969 to affect 155 wealthy individuals who weren't paying their fair share. But now it's threatening to impact 20 million middle-class Americans. That's why Rudy Giuliani wants to index the AMT for inflation and eventually eliminate it.

One of the secrets to America's historic success is that we're an engine of innovation – we pioneer new technologies and create new industries. But this Democratic Congress recently allowed the research and development tax credit to expire, choosing higher taxes over a commitment to America's innovation edge in the global economy. We need to reinstate the Research & Development Tax Credit to help American companies find solutions to the great challenges we face – like achieving energy independence.

Americans' savings rates have been declining. That can lead to a sense of economic insecurity. We can help reverse this trend by eliminating the double taxation of personal savings, creating new tax-free savings accounts. People can use these accounts to buy a home, pay for education or pay for their retirement. It's a new tool for empowering individuals to achieve financial independence.

Americans agree that we need to make healthcare more affordable and portable. Some politicians feel the best way to achieve that goal is through government mandates or steps toward socialized medicine. Rudy Giuliani believes in a quintessential American approach to solving our problems: empowering people to own their health insurance by providing a tax exclusion – $15,000 for families and $7,500 for individuals – improving the access to and quality of care while decreasing costs.

The next President needs to take action to stop Democrats from imposing an unprecedented $3 trillion tax hike on the American people. They want to allow the 2001 and 2003 Bush tax cuts to expire. That's the worst thing Washington could do – instead of tax hikes, Rudy Giuliani believes we should be enacting new tax cuts that lead to new opportunities.