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El 9-9-9 plan.

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Perry to Call for Flat Tax in Economic Plan

By JOHN D. MCKINNON
Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry's economic plan will include a flat-tax proposal, a bid to establish himself as the conservative candidate on what has become a defining issue in the campaign.

In a speech on Wednesday, Mr. Perry, the governor of Texas, said he would lay out details of a flat-tax plan that would emphasize streamlining of the cumbersome tax code.

The plan "starts with scrapping the three million words of the current tax code, and starting over with something much simpler: a flat tax," Mr. Perry said in a speech to the Western Republican Leadership Conference in Las Vegas. "I want to make the tax code so simple that even Timothy Geithner can file his taxes on time," he said, in a jibe at the current Treasury secretary, whose fumbles with taxes emerged during his confirmation hearings.

Flat-tax proposals have failed to move U.S. voters in the past—magazine publisher Steve Forbes ran twice on the idea, and Rudy Giuliani flirted with it in 2007. But it's always maintained a core of loyal support among conservative activists, inspired in part by the success of flat-tax plans in former Soviet bloc countries of Eastern Europe.

More recently, the rise in the polls of Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain—whose "9-9-9" plan tax plan would combine a 9% individual tax, a 9% business tax and a 9% national sales tax—suggests that U.S. voters might be more open to fundamental overhaul of the tax system than in the past. If nothing else, the rise in Mr. Cain's support has thrust tax policy to the center of the GOP nominating contest.

A big question is whether former Massachusetts governor Mr. Romney, a top-tier candidate who has become a key Perry target, will respond to the sweeping tax-overhaul ideas being advanced by his two rivals. Mr. Romney's tax plan is viewed as somewhat narrower in scope. It focuses on lowering tax burdens on investment as a way of accelerating economic growth.

Mr. Perry is being advised on his flat-tax plan by Mr. Forbes, the former candidate, according to people close to the campaign.

The flat tax is also backed by a conservative group called Freedom Works, headed by former House Majority Leader Dick Armey, who is a longtime supporter of the flat tax. Mr. Forbes also is a director of the group.

"We're obviously big supporters and pretty excited that it's getting introduced in the presidential debate," said Wayne Brough, the group's chief economist. "If you look at the tax code today, it's so riddled with special-interest carveouts....It's just another tool these guys have used to tilt the playing field in their favor."

Tax experts said Mr. Cain deserves credit for thrusting the idea of a tax overhaul into public view, in part by making it easy to understand. But his "9-9-9" plan has come under fire from liberals—and even some conservatives—for its potential impact on moderate-income households, as well as its embrace of an entirely new tax, the national sales tax.

"Cain has moved the goal posts for what a bold tax reform plan should look like, and what will capture the imagination of voters," said Scott Hodge, president of the nonpartisan Tax Foundation. "The bottom line is that 2012 is shaping up to be a referendum on the future and direction of the American tax system-flatter or more progressive."

Mr. Perry hinted at the direction he would take in Tuesday's debate in Las Vegas, where he criticized Mr. Cain's idea. Voters are "not interested in 9-9-9," he said. "What they're interested in is flatter and fairer. ...I'll bump plans with you, brother, and we'll see who has the best idea about how you get this country working again."

Recent public polling data on the flat tax versus other options is in short supply. The Tax Foundation conducted a poll in 2005 that found that voters preferred a flat-rate income tax with no deductions. That option received support from 37% of respondents, compared to 19% each for a national sales tax and for the current tax system, which includes progressively higher rates for higher earners and numerous deductions and credits.

—Neil King Jr. contributed to this article.