The man who ran for president on the flat tax says he likes John McCain's stand on taxes. Steve Forbes never got a lot of traction with his proposal for a flat tax during his two presidential campaigns (in 1996 and 2000), but he still hasn't given up in the idea, which he says has worked well in every country which has adopted it. In the meantime, Forbes says McCain has adopted another interesting idea. Taxpayers “can have a simplified tax form, with only two tax rates, no deductions, but you make the choice,” explains Forbes. “You can use this simplified form, or you can stay with the old complicated form, but you make the choice.”
That sounds a lot like what Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan has proposed . “That is not a coincidence,” says Forbes. “One of the things I hope will happen after the elections is that Congressman Ryan will assume a very high position of leadership among the House Republicans.” Forbes says Ryan, who campaigned for him in 1996 “gets it” on the subject of taxes. Incidentally, Forbes believes Ryan would make a “superb” running mate for McCain, who campaigns today in western Wisconsin.
