At a Congressional District 7 debate Wednesday, incumbent Democrat Rep. Raúl Grijalva said Republican Ruth McClung supports a 23 percent national sales tax, but she says that’s not true.
McClung’s campaign website includes her answers to a Center for Arizona Policy candidate questionnaire. Candidates were asked to say whether they support or oppose the statements listed. She said she supports “replacing the current federal tax code with a flat tax or national sales tax.”
McClung simply answered yes to the two-part question, without specifying whether she favored one or the other or both.
At Wednesday’s debate, she said Grijalva hadn’t read her positions, to which he responded with a list of things he doesn’t agree with that he said she supports. Among the items was a 23 percent national sales tax. His campaign also sent an email Thursday citing her answer to the Center for Arizona Policy question.
Asked directly about it Thursday, McClung said yes, she does support a flat tax, but she doesn’t support a national sales tax.
Even then, she said she supports simplifying the tax code with a stepped flat tax, with several levels of flat taxes based on income, instead of a single flat tax across all income levels.
But she says she does not support the Fair Tax, a proposed 23 percent national sales tax that would replace all income taxes.
“I think something like that right now would be above and beyond what we want to do right now especially with our economy,” McClung said of a national sales tax.
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