NASHUA, N.H. — Retired Gen. Wesley K. Clark on Monday unveiled the most sweeping tax-reform plan of any of the Democratic presidential hopefuls, a plan he said would dramatically simplify tax returns and benefit 31 million families without increasing the budget deficit.
Under Clark's proposal, a family of four making up to $50,000 a year would pay no federal income tax at all, and all families with children making up to $100,000 would see a reduction in their tax bill. The retired four-star general says he would offset the loss in tax revenue by asking millionaires to pay more.
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Wednesday January 07, 2004 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 2 National Desk 1 inches; 38 words Type of Material: Correction
Clark's tax reform plan -- An article in Monday's Section A on the tax reform proposal by Democratic presidential candidate Wesley K. Clark misstated the plan's per-child tax credit, giving it as $250. The correct figure is $2,250.
His proposal is a decidedly liberal approach, as well as one that clearly sets him apart from the Democratic front-runner, Howard Dean, whose call for repealing all of President Bush's tax cuts has been attacked by rivals as hurtful to the middle class.
Clark's plan also is designed to call greater public attention to his campaign.
He is hoping for a second-place finish in New Hampshire's Jan. 27 primary and an ensuing bounce going into the Feb. 3 primaries and caucuses in South Carolina and several other states where his tax code could resonate.
Clark's tax-reform plan is his most significant in domestic policy, and it is geared primarily to help people with children.
It also is designed to vastly simplify the complicated federal tax code.
"My tax-reform plan is simple," he told a gathering of community leaders here. "Those who make the most should pay more. Those who make the least should pay less."
Under Clark's plan, people could determine whether they needed to pay taxes by answering three simple questions about their income, their marital status and their number of children. They would not need to file tax forms if they did not owe the government money.
Currently, a family of four making $50,000 pays $1,583 in federal income taxes.
The campaign did not provide a price tag for Clark's plan but said it would not cost the government any money. Lost revenue would be made up primarily by the roughly one-tenth of 1% of American families who earn $1 million or more a year. They would be asked to pay more in taxes. Clark has said he would like to raise the taxes for top earners by 5 percentage points.
Clark also said he would repeal Bush's tax cuts for those making more than $200,000 a year and would close loopholes that allow businesses to avoid paying taxes by moving money to offshore banks, for example.
