Rudy Giuliani Promises Dramatic Tax Cuts

Rudy Giuliani, a Republican presidential candidate, spent little time and money campaigning in Iowa and New Hampshire, which led to lackluster results in recent contests there. Giuliani finished third in the Iowa caucus and fourth in the New Hampshire primary. But this was actually Giuliani's plan, according to a Bloomberg article. Giuliani chose instead to save his resources for more important states. Still a strong candidate for the Republican nomination, Giuliani should not be overlooked, especially as he is offering some of the most favorable tax policies for investors. The following is a summary of Giuliani’s tax policy from his campaign website:

“Mayor Giuliani plans to simplify the tax code by introducing the Fair and Simple Tax (FAST) form. The FAST form gives American taxpayers the option of filling out their taxes on a single page, while cutting the current six brackets in half and preserving the major deductions that Americans depend upon--mortgage interest, charity, state & local taxes, the child tax credit, the personal exemption and the new health care exclusion.

Rudy’s plan also cuts the corporate tax rate from 35% to 25% to keep America competitive in the global economy. In addition, the Mayor proposes giving the death tax the death penalty, cutting the capital gains tax from 15% to 10% and indexing the Alternative Minimum Tax for inflation and eventually eliminating it.

In addition, the Mayor’s proposal eliminates the double-taxation of personal saving accounts, reinstates the Research and Development Tax Credit and makes the current Bush tax cuts permanent.”As far as investors are concerned, these measures should sound great. Lower corporate taxes will obviously benefit business owners and lower capital gains taxes will benefit almost all investors. Will Giuliani have a chance to demonstrate his progressive tax plan? Or might his decision to overlook the Iowa and New Hampshire primaries come back to haunt him? Only time will tell.