Cain plan now excludes poorest Americans

DETROIT -- Republican presidential hopeful Herman Cain on Friday redefined his tax plan to exclude the poorest Americans and to allow some deductions, abandoning the zero-exemption feature of his "9-9-9" proposal that would have meant a tax increase for four out of five Americans.

After criticism from Republicans and Democrats alike, Cain proposed no income taxes for Americans living at or below the poverty line, $22,350 for a family of four. He also proposed exemptions for businesses investing in "opportunity zones" as a way to boost rundown neighborhoods such as the one he visited in Detroit.

Yet many of Cain's proposals were likely to earn him more skeptics. Cain's plan suggested minimum wages block low-skill workers from finding work and proposed that they be eliminated in struggling areas. He also challenged building codes and zoning in such areas; if businesses can make a case the regulations are hurting the economy, they may qualify for waivers.

Up to now, Cain has touted a plan to scrap the current taxes on income, payroll, capital gains and corporate profits and replace them with a 9 percent tax on income, a 9 percent business tax and a 9 percent national sales tax.

-- AP