Originally published on Forbes.com.
I’ve been so transfixed by Bernie Sanders and countless Republican candidates, that I almost missed that tonight’s debate is not a pure Bernie/Hillary smackdown. There are three other candidates. I spent some time trying to come up with what their tax programs were but had no luck. I decided that there was something I like about each of them. Jim Webb was awarded the Navy Cross. Martin O’Malley went to a Jesuit high school. Lincoln Chafee, down there in Rhode Island, is practically a neighbor. Well, I don’t know if it is the neighborly thing or not, but the Chafee campaign was the quickest to get back to me with a tax proposal. First I’ll give you some quick facts about Lincoln Chafee and our neighborhood.
It’s Governer Chafee
Governor Chafee just finished a term as Governor of Rhode Island. He has also served as a US Senator and as mayor of Warwick. The most fun fact about Warwick is that when the airlines tell you that they are taking you to Providence, they are lying. T.F. Green Airport is actually in Warwick. A little life hack to consider is that if you are going anywhere in Southern New England other than Boston, you probably should consider flying into Providence (Warwick really), if you are going to be renting a car. You can also consider Hartford (really Windsor Locks) or finally again Worcester (which amazingly is actually in Worcester).
Governor Chafee had started his political life as a liberal Republican (something which I guess now is oxymoronic). He finally bit the bullet and became a Democrat in 2013. He majored in Classics at Brown University. Politics is in the family. Lincoln’s father John Chafee also served as Governor of Rhode Island and as a US Senator. His great-great -grandfather, Henry Lippitt was also governor of Rhode Island.
Chafee’s Tax Positions
Debbie Rich sent me a press release dated September 24th titled “Chafee Proposes New Tax Bracket For The Wealthy”. Unlike Bernie Sanders, Chafee would preserve the favorable rate on capital gains and dividends, but would raise the rate to 25% for taxpayers with total income over $750,000. He would also put in a new top ordinary rate of 45% for those with income over $750,000.
Chafee estimates that the $41 billion raised by the higher rates could be used to raise personal exemptions by $1,000. He is also open to further increasing the personal exemption for low and moderate incomes by phasing it out for incomes over $200,000.
“We need to address income inequality in this country,” said Chafee. “This proposal does just that and would move us closer to the tax code generally applicable in industrialized European countries. The economy is ticking along,” noted Chafee, “we don’t need a radical change to the tax code which would change economic behavior.”
Radically Conservative
I’m pretty impressed by the “..we don’t need a radical change to the tax code”. Everything that has been added to the Internal Revenue Code in the last hundred years has been added for a reason, sometimes, perhaps more often than not, a good reason. There is something a little refreshing about a candidate having a tax platform of The Tax Code isn’t so bad. Just need top rate a bit higher . We’ll see if we find out more tonight. I’ll be covering the debate from the Sahara Restaurant in Worcester with some folks who are “feeling the Bern”.
I managed to find this interview where he explains the program