Ben Carson Unveils 'Prescription for Growth' Tax Plan — and It Includes Some Drastic Changes to Current System

Ben Carson rolled out his tax reform plan Monday morning during an interview on "Fox and Friends," just days after the struggling campaign announced a major overhaul.

Carson's plan includes a 14.9 percent flat tax for income earned above 150 percent of the federal poverty level and a de minimis payment for families whose income does not meet the taxation threshold. It would also eliminate capital gains taxes, the "death tax" and most other deductions and loopholes.

Image via Twitter/FoxandFriends

Carson said on "Fox and Friends" that the goal of his plan is to raise revenues, while not redistributing wealth.

"Go back to the Constitution [and] recognize why taxation exists. It's because we need money to run the government," he said. "It's not to control people's behavior and do all these other things that have been added in with this 80,000 pages of tax regulations."

When asked by show co-host Steve Doocy if every American will be paying a tax, Carson confirmed that everyone will be paying "something."

"There's nobody who doesn't pay something," the retired neurosurgeon said of his plan. "For people who are below the poverty level, we have a mechanism where they do contribute something. It may not be at the 14.9 percent, because we do not want to add to their woes. But we do have other things in place to try and increase their opportunities."

"We're not looking to keep people in a state of dependency, we're looking to provide a ladder to move people upward because we only have 330 million people," Carson concluded, "and we've got to develop all of them if we're gonna compete with China, at 1.4 billion, and India — places like that."

In a press release, Carson said that his tax plan will eliminate the "onerous burdens" of the IRS while putting everyone on the "same footing."

"It’s time that our tax system reflected those ideals," he said. "My plan for a simple, fair and transparent flat tax will not only eliminate the onerous burdens the IRS places on taxpayers, but it will grow the economy. Everyone will be on the same footing, from the largest corporation to the local family business."

"No one will be able to hide from their tax burden, but neither will anyone be ruined by an incomprehensible tax code. A Carson administration will push Congress from Day One to implement this plan to revitalize our economy through fundamental, common-sense tax reform," he added. "We will take the power away from the IRS and put it back in the hands of 'We The People.'"

EXCLUSIVE: @RealBenCarson releases his 'Prescription for Growth' tax plan https://t.co/0eNHsCU35s

— FOX & Friends (@foxandfriends) January 4, 2016

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