Former Vice President Mike Pence ripped Vivek Ramaswamy for wanting to raise inheritance taxes to 59%, telling Newsmax it is the "the last thing we should do in the wake of Joe Biden's failed economic policies."
"The American people deserve to know that he's advocated in the last year for a 59% inheritance tax," Pence told Saturday's "America Right Now."
The jab came after the two GOP presidential candidates shared a tense exchange at the first Republican presidential debate last week in Milwaukee.
In his recent book, "Nation of Victims," Ramaswamy called for a 59% death tax writing, “The way to save meritocracy from degenerating into aristocracy is to give inheritance and real estate taxes real teeth."
"A hefty inheritance tax with no gaping loopholes gives us the best of meritocracy while avoiding the worst: People have an incentive to work hard and innovate during their lifetimes, but their children must start fresh, without getting to ride on their parents' coattails."
Pence and others have sharply criticized the 38-year-old Ramaswamy for his death tax proposal.
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"The last thing we should do in the wake of Joe Biden's failed economic policies is raise taxes on anyone," Pence added. "When I was governor of Indiana, we cut income taxes and we also completely eliminated death taxes in Indiana.”
Pence also hit Ramaswamy for his political inexperience, noting he has never voted in a presidential election until the 2020 race and failed to vote for President Trump in 2016.
Despite Ramaswamy’s strong debate performance in Milwaukee, he appears to have lost support among Republicans in most national polls.
The business candidate has come under sharp criticism for several extreme foreign policy positions, including a cut-off of all U.S. aid to Israel by 2028, ending all U.S. aid to Ukraine and allowing Russian President Putin to keep annexed territories, and encouraging China to invade Taiwan after 2028.
Ramaswamy's campaign last week hit back at Pence claiming he never read Ramaswamy's book.
"Vivek supports a 12% flat tax across the board, while eliminating cronyist deductions and loopholes," Tricia McLaughlin, Ramaswamy's communications director wrote in a statement to NBC News. "Vivek laid out a mathematical calculation on how to fully eliminate the federal income tax, which wasn't even constitutional for most of its history. Vivek is an intellectual, not a partisan hack, so he explores ideas."
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Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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