Tea Party Debates Fair Tax vs. Flat Tax -- Who Wins?

The philosophical dynamism of the conservative movement was on display at a national tea party conference Saturday, when Fair Tax and Flat Tax advocates debated their respective reforms.

Fair Tax supporters, led by Rep. Rob Woodall, R-Ga., called their legislation "the only bill that eliminates every exception, favor and loophole. It's the only one that zeros out the corporate income tax."

"Is a sales tax of 23 cents out of every dollar too much to pay?" Linder asked.

Flat Tax proponents countered that their approach is more politically practical and more transparent.

While praising both reforms as superior to the current tax system, Daniel J. Mitchell, an expert on tax reform and supply-side tax policy at the Cato Institute, favored the Flat Tax because "I don't trust politicians."

Mitchell said that no country in the world has implemented a consumption tax without retaining its income tax. "Phasing out [the income tax] will never happen," he predicted.

Either way, the panel agreed on one thing: A vigorous debate is coming to Capitol Hill.

Sunshine State News is providing continuing coverage of this weekend's American Policy Summit, hosted in Phoenix by Tea Party Patriots (www.summit11.org).