Harold Ford on middle-class taxes

I knew I liked this guy for a reason (from the Wash. Times). Go Democratic Leadership Council!

I don't like the implied assault on the "rich" or the tax engineering for specific industries but this (Dem.) guy at least acknowledges JFK's position:

• Middle-class flat tax: This is simple and fair: no middle-class family with an income of under $150,000 should ever pay an effective tax rate of more than 10 percent. If what they owe after calculating their taxes is more than 10 percent of their income, they won't have to pay a dime above 10 percent. If they owe less than 10 percent, they pay the lesser amount.

• Permanent capital-gains tax cuts: Long-term capital gains tax rates now are between 5 percent and 15 percent. The rates are progressive: People in or below the 15 percent personal income tax bracket (which applies to married couples making $60,000) get the lower capital-gains rate. We should lower the capital-gains tax even further for people making up to $100,000 a year, provided they hold the asset for up to five years. Thus your tax would be 4 percent if you hold the asset for three years, 3 percent if you hold it for five years. This sliding scale for taxing capital gains will encourage investment and increase savings for a majority of Americans.

• Cut corporate tax rates to 30 percent: America has one of the developed world's highest corporate tax rates. Let's change that by lowering the corporate tax rate from 35 to 30 percent — with an even lower rate for new knowledge-based industries in energy technology, biotechnology and other science-rich sectors. We should follow House Ways and Means Chairman Charles Rangel's lead and cut the corporate tax rates from 35 percent to 30 ½ percent[.]

Tennessee made a big mistake. Heck, I could have voted for this guy.