Ben Carson, former neurosurgeon and Republican presidential candidate, started his bid for the White House last month by proposing a contentious tax plan that is based on Biblical tithing, which suggests that one tenth of a person’s annual income must be directed towards God via churches. While speaking to the media about it, Carson explained how he had been inspired by the scriptures.
According to critics, Carson’s tax plan would offer a massive tax relief to wealthy Americans while simultaneously looting the poor. Carson himself lauded his proposal by calling it “pretty darn fair” and saying that it is insulting to assume that the poor cannot pay taxes.
“According to the Tax Policy Center, to raise the same amount of revenue we do now, the tax rate would have to be in the low to mid 20 percent range. Low and middle income families would get a big tax hike while wealthy families would actually get a big tax cut,” said television anchor Chris Wallace while criticizing Carson’s tithing plan.
While Carson has a significantly low chance at the Republican primaries currently, his proposal for a single, proportional tax plan might just gain considerable support from conservative Christians and any other American who is frustrated with the existing tax system that has been labeled as unnecessarily complex. While promoting his tax plan, Carson said that his policy would bring an end to the loopholes in the current tax system and make it more difficult for the government to arbitrarily raise taxes.
Carson, who is rather popular among the conservative Tea Party movement, has earlier identified himself as a problem solver with no vested political interests. During his speech at the 2013 National Prayer Breakfast, Carson openly condemned President Barack Obama for his healthcare reforms.
Carson is a former neurosurgeon who was born and brought up in a low-income household in Detroit. He is renowned as the first known neurosurgeon to have separated conjoined twins joined at the head. He is a prolific writer as well and known for having written six bestselling books for Christian audiences. As of now, seven republicans have officially announced their candidacies for the upcoming presidential race. Apart from Carson, the current contenders include former Governor Mike Huckabee, Senator Ted Cruz, Senator Marco Rubio, Senator Rand Paul, Rick Santorum and former CEO Carly Fiorina.
Photo Credits: The Blaze
