Brownback pushes flat tax rate plan

updated 1:53 p.m. ET April 17, 2007

DES MOINES, Iowa - Republican presidential candidate Sam Brownback, looking ahead to Tuesday's tax return deadline, on Monday suggested a flat tax as an option for taxpayers.

"I'm not taking on the current tax code from the standpoint of removing it," the Kansas senator said. "I'm saying create an alternative and let people pick."

Brownback, who spoke with reporters after meeting with customers at bookstore in Des Moines, Iowa, said his flat tax plan would not, at least initially, reduce federal revenue.

"Not as part of a system's change I am proposing," he said. "We would design a system that would yield comparable revenues."

Brownback said several details of his plan haven't been set but would be in the coming months. One possibility is to require taxpayers to pick an option and stick with it for some time, likely five years, he said.

Message board What do you think of the Brownback campaign?

Businessman Steve Forbes sought the Republican presidential nomination twice, with the centerpiece of his campaign a flat tax that would have cut deeply into revenues. He failed to get the nomination both times.

Brownback said he was pushing a more modest package as an option to the current system, which he called "unintelligible."

"You can call 50 different auditors with the same question and get 50 different answers," he said.

Picking the president — the candidates Click a name below to visit that candidate’s MSNBC page • Joe Biden                 • Sam Brownback     • Hillary Clinton          • Chris Dodd • John Edwards         • Rudy Giuliani           • Mike Gravel              • Duncan Hunter • Mike Huckabee        • Dennis Kucinich     • John McCain           • Barack Obama • Ron Paul                    • Bill Richardson      • Mitt Romney            • Tom Tancredo • Fred Thompson To subscribe to a candidate page RSS feed, click here.

MORE FROM SAM BROWNBACK NEWS

Sam Brownback News Section Front

Kansas' Brownback bows out of '08 race Low Iowa finish will end Brownback bid Brownback sorry for Mormon e-mail Taking the second tier seriously Brownback disputes Kansas Guard shortages Catholic candidates clash on number of issues Brownback pushes flat tax rate plan Kansas senator seeking conservative mantle Brownback pushes private Soc. Sec. accounts Brownback supports Pace’s gay remark Sam Brownback News Section Front   Add Sam Brownback News headlines to your news reader: