McCain calls for Senate to oppose value-added tax

Arizona Republican John McCain proposed a non-binding resolution today to require lawmakers to take a public position on a value-added tax. 

"I think it's necessary for my colleagues to be on record on this onerous new tax," McCain said Thursday on the floor. 

McCain called the VAT, "a massive tax increase that will cripple families on fixed incomes and only further push back America's economic recovery." 

A VAT would likely create greater spending instead of deficit reduction. The middle class would burden the majority of the consumption tax, he said. 

"Every current member of Congress should say where they stand on the VAT," McCain said Thursday on the floor. 

In Europe, he said, the VAT started relatively low and has increased over time. To balance the U.S. federal budget deficit would require a VAT of at least 18 percent, McCain said. 

"The solution is not to increase taxes but to cut spending and provide tax relief and simplification," he said.