Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Timothy M. Kaine appeared on MSNBC’s “Hardball” Friday, speaking about women’s issues in the commonwealth and his debate with opponent George Allen on Thursday.
Republicans have seized on one of Kaine’s debate responses in particular when he was asked if all Virginians should have to pay some level of federal income tax.
“I would be open to a proposal that would have some minimum tax level for everyone,” Kaine said at the debate.
On “Hardball,” Kaine reiterated that he would be open to discussing a proposal to require all Americans to pay some level of federal income tax, but noted that his own proposal was to allow Bush-era tax cuts to expire on those earning $500,000 or more.
Kaine also added that while many Americans do not pay federal income tax, low-income individuals are subject to many other taxes.
“The lie that some perpetrate that poor people don’t pay a lot of taxes is wrong,” he said.
Allen has hammered Kaine for his comment at the debate. In a press release Saturday, the Allen campaign accused Kaine of doubling down on the idea of imposing an income tax on all Americans in his TV appearances.
