GOP presidential candidate Ben Carson defended his flat tax plan on Sunday, saying it is "condescending" to poor people to say they can't pay taxes.
The 63-year-old Carson himself grew up poor in Detroit before becoming a pioneering pediatric neurosurgeon at Johns Hopkins University.
Appearing on "Fox News Sunday," Carson defended the idea, which he termed a "proportional tax," saying he got the idea from the biblical concept of tithing. People making $10 billion a year pay $1 billion in taxes and those making as little as $100 pay $1.
"That's pretty darn fair if you ask me," Carson said.
"Some people say it's not fair because the poor people can't afford to pay that dollar. That's very condescending," he said. "I grew up poor. I experienced every economic level. I can tell you poor people have pride, too. They don't want to be just taken care of."
If everyone is paying taxes, he said, it makes it more difficult for politicians to then raise taxes since they would be raised on everyone.
Host Chris Wallace countered that experts say that a flat tax rate would have to be 20 percent to match current revenue. That would cause low- and middle-income families to face a tax hike, while the wealthy would get a cut.
Carson disagreed, saying that his numbers are closer to 10-15 percent. He said he would cut out loopholes and bring in more money in other areas, including utilizing America's energy resources, revamping corporate taxes and bringing in overseas money through a tax holiday.
"That's $2 trillion right there," he said.
Carson also was asked about a statement on his website that "all options" should remain open for dealing with Russia. Would that include war, Wallace asked.
"All options includes all options," Carson replied. "That doesn't mean that would be my first option."
War with Russia is not an option in dealing with Ukraine, Carson said, but added that he would deal with Ukraine differently than President Barack Obama has.
Carson pointed out that Ukraine gave up its nuclear weapons on the promise from the United States and other Western powers that it would be defended against any Russian invasion.
Should a military option look like it was needed against Russia, Carson said he would consult with his generals on the best course of action.
Carson also defended two controversial statements he has made in the past, comparing modern America to Nazi Germany and comparing Obamacare to slavery.
In a March 2014 interview with Breitbart.com, Carson said that Americans feel too intimidated by their own government to speak their minds.
"There are a lot of people in our society who are afraid to say what they really mean because they may get an IRS audit, people will call them names, their jobs may be interfered with," Carson told Fox News. "This is not what America was supposed to be."
In an October 2013 speech, Carson compared Obamacare to slavery.
"Obamacare fundamentally changes the relationship between the people and the government," Carson said on Sunday. "The government is supposed to respond to the will of the people, not dictate to the people what they are doing. With that program, we're allowing that whole paradigm to be switched around."
Carson also was asked about his statement last week that, as president, he would not have to enforce "judicial law."
Carson on Sunday pointed to the Supreme Court's Dred Scott decision, which disallowed slaves to sue for their freedom. Abraham Lincoln disagreed with that decision, leading to the Civil War, he said.
"The way our Constitution is set up, the president or the executive branch is obligated to carry out the laws of the land. The laws of the land, according to our Constitution, are provided by the legislative branch," he said.
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