In an October 26 editorial, The Wall Street Journal praised the flat tax plan proposed by GOP presidential candidate Gov. Rick Perry (R-TX), calling it “desirable” and “pro-growth.” From the editorial:

Rick Perry joined the GOP's tax reform sweepstakes on Tuesday, proposing an optional flat income tax of 20%, among other fiscal and economic reforms. We'll get to the details, but the larger story is how the drive for a flatter, simpler, more pro-growth tax code is taking center stage in the Republican Presidential contest.

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A flatter tax code is both an economic and political reform. Economically, its lower rates would attract more capital from abroad, encourage more domestic investment, and increase growth and jobs. It would also minimize, if not eliminate, the tax favoritism and loopholes that misallocate labor and capital. Politically, this would reduce the legal corruption of handing out favors that has soured so many Americans on their government.

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One attack on a flat tax is that it won't raise enough revenue to fund the government--as if the current tax code is doing that well. But Mr. Perry and other Republicans shouldn't play this static revenue game. The flat tax is desirable precisely because of its spur to faster growth and more job creation, and the dynamic effect those would have on government revenues. The Perry campaign yesterday released a revenue analysis of its plan by John Dunham and Associates that estimated revenues of $2.781 trillion by 2014 and 19.5% of GDP by 2020 (compared to $2.3 trillion and 15.3% in fiscal 2011).

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The good news is that Mr. Perry and most of his competitors are thinking big, with proposals that will reverse the U.S. slide to high-debt, slow-growth stagnation. President Obama wants to portray the economic debate as pro-growth government spenders vs. the austerity of budget cutting. But the real debate is over whether government or the private economy is the main engine of prosperity. The flat tax puts Republicans on the side of private growth and government reform, a potent combination. Perhaps Mr. Perry and his comrades can even coax Mitt Romney to join the party.

Previously:

“The Most Exciting Tax Plan Since Reagan's”: Right-Wing Media Tout Perry's Flat Tax