Johnson Stumps in Concord [VIDEO]

Should the country replace the current federal tax system with a 23 percent sales tax?

That is one of the issues being forwarded by Republican presidential candidate Gary Johnson, the former governor of New Mexico. The candidate was in Concord on Aug. 4, speaking to employees and voters at the Cityside Grille on Manchester Street, enjoying coffee and eggs (sans the toast, which the governor didn’t order).

Johnson said the sales tax, which he called “a fair tax,” would levy a 23 percent tax on every item sold. At the same time, individuals would receive pre-bate checks to offset some of the tax.

The national sales tax proposal has been floating around for years, with Johnson noting that "it's not an easy sell ... it's not an easy concept ... however, it's simple and it's fair." 

Johnson noted that there were built-in taxes into the cost of all retail sales items, in some form, during the process of creating the products, making the price tag of items artificially high. The price of items would drop in the wake of the new tax, since those built-in taxes would no longer be charged at the point of creation. 

But what if the companies didn’t lower the built in tax costs to consumers? Johnson said eventually, it would create more competition between vendors, with each company lowering the costs or “bleeding it out” of the product costs, in order to stay in business. 

In New Mexico, the state has a gross services tax, “which was an easy tax to collect,” he said. Most state structures already have tax collection agencies already in place to collect the federal receipts of the sales tax. So on the federal level, there would be a windfall in savings, probably into the billions, for not having to have Internal Revenue Service employees collecting tax forms from individuals and corporations, he said. Johnson also predicted that with the sales tax, corporations would have more money to hire new employees, since they would not be paying any taxes at the point of creation.

Tax fairness is also an issues that gets solved with the plan, according to Johnson, who noted that everyone would pay the same percentage, with people who made more money being taxed more based on their consumption.

“It’s also based on the whole notion that everyone pays their fair share,” he said.

The campaign

Johnson is waging what some might seem is an unorthodox campaign for the nomination, coming at issues from a different angle than most of the Republican field. He advocates the legalization of marijuana and civil unions for homosexual couples, probably some of the hottest "third rails" in Republican primary politics. Johnson has also stressed the need to get out of foreign entanglements such as the wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Libya, a position which puts him next to U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, against the rest, who often advocate more, not less, military spending overseas to fight the seemingly unending war on terror. His tone is decided small “L” libertarian with a heaping helping of small government ethos, with a dash of frank-speak and dry humor. 

When asked how the campaign was going, Johnson said, “Well, I’m in last place … how is that?”

“It’s the only vantage point I’ve every known,” he said. “So this is a real standard from my political career standpoint. I know how it works. I know how it can work. So, you just have to keep plugging away.” 

Johnson said despite differences with the other candidates and voters, his platform and ideas were the way the country should be heading. If he didn’t think that, he wouldn’t be running.

“I just tell the truth,” he said. “It’s a hard sell, but you got to be in it and engage (voters), as I did with marijuana.”

A resume that shows not only eight years of being a successful governor but also private sector experience is another point Johnson raises during campaign stops. About a month ago, a poll was conducted showing the favorability rating of all the candidates in their home states, he said. Johnson added that he was the only candidate to have high approval rates in his own state. Another report showed all the candidates’ job performance record and he was the only one credited with job creation, he said. 

“I never claimed to create a single job in New Mexico,” he said. “(But) I think I really did maybe more, than anyone else, to contribute to an environment of certainty, when it came to business. In that context, I really made a difference when it came to jobs.”

On the debt limit, Johnson would have vetoed the compromise proposal. He said the country needed to “stop printing money” and to approve a Balance Budget Amendment that would balance the budget in a couple years, and not some “feel good 20 year deal.” Putting off the hard choices will only make the economy worse, he said.

“Let’s do it now, while we’re still in control,” he said. “As opposed to a financial collapse, a monetary collapse, which, I think, is what’s in the cards.”

Focusing on New Hampshire

Johnson said his main focus would be the New Hampshire primary. While he is campaigning in other states, the bulk of his resources are being spent wooing Granite State voters, in the hopes that a good showing will make a “Listen to Johnson Ticket,” a must-have in South Carolina or Nevada, moving forward, wherever. He noted he was skipping the Ames Straw Poll because he didn’t have money to pay for a barbecue. Johnson said if he were competing against two or three Republican candidates, his chances would probably be diminished. But with a crowded field, anything is possible.

“How many are running now, 127?,” he said. “And I’m the only one running, on the social side, who doesn’t believe in the social conservative agenda. I believe if Republicans lead with that agenda, they will find themselves out of office.”