From an interview with Cenk Uygur on MSNBC, March 2, 2011:
Uygur: What do you think should be the proper income tax rate?
Paul: Well, the best would be zero. I mean, we lived most of our history with zero income tax. But you would have to have the proper sized government. You would have to have the proper role for government.
You can't be the policeman of the world and not have an income tax. So I would not have all my troops around the world. I would be bringing the troops home.
And I wouldn't have a military industrial complex that demands so much, but I wouldn't have a welfare state either.
And under those conditions, you don't need an income tax. And I think that's the way it should be....
I think when people take money from you and give it to somebody else, that's the equivalent of stealing from you. I don't want to take any of your money. I want
you to invest it and create jobs.
