I don't have a dog in this fight, but...

[Lamplighter]

Governor Rick Perry has released his tax plan which is being touted as a "flat tax"
Below is what I have extracted from a couple of articles,
mainly from today's Washington Post

Washington Post
By Perry Bacon Jr.
October*25, 6:22*AM
Perry calls for major spending and tax cuts

Texas governor and Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry
has released an economic plan full of long-held conservative goals,
including personal accounts for Social Security, an optional flat tax,
major spending cuts and a series of tax cuts.

In almost every way, Perry, who is looking to woo tea party conservatives
who have been reluctant to back Romney,
presents policies to the right of the former Massachusetts governor.

Federal spending cap as % of GDP
Romney:20 %
Perry : 18% and Balanced Budget Amendment
Huntsman: three tax rates: 8%, 14%, and 23%
Cain: 9% on income, 9% on sales

Current special taxes
All candidates: Repeal estate tax
Romney: no taxes on interest, dividend income for less than$200K
Perry: eliminates: taxes on estates, capital gains and dividends
Cain: repeals all other taxes other than 9-9-9

Social Security
Romney: Raise retirement age
Perry: Private savings account outside
Cain: (0%)

Corporate taxes
Romney 25%
Perry 20% OR current tax system
Gingrich: 15% or current tax system
Cain: 9%

Deductions:
Romney: Current system
Perry: keeps mortgage interest and charitable donations
Huntsman eliminates all deductions
Cain: eliminates all deductions

Democrats strongly oppose many of Perry’s ideas,
and they are unlikely to become law, even if Perry is elected president

And besides all that:
Steve Forbes previously announced his support of Perry, and
Perry's plan is based on Forbes' "flat tax" plan from previous years,
but a Forbes Magazine article today says:

Unfortunately, this is one area where the Perry flat tax falls a bit short.
His plan gets rid of lots of special favors in the tax code,
but it would retain deductions (for those earning less than $500,000 yearly)
for charitable contributions, home mortgage interest, and state and local taxes.