Yesterday,
news that a Dean tax cut is in the offing came in the final paragraph of a Washington Post story; today it's on the
front page of the Boston Globe. The paper doesn't say what form it'll take (whether or not it'll be a reform of the regressive payroll tax system) but it does say that Dean's team of economic advisers are the source of the idea.
Ruy Texeira has been saying for a while that Dean would be vulnerable in the general election on taxes. I think he's right.
The dilemma for Dean is going to be reconciling any tax cut proposal with (1) his pronounced fiscal hawkishness and (2) his strategy of offering a clear alternative to Bush. Shifting the burden around in payroll taxes (a move that could pay for itself, and could still allow him to say he's going to repeal all the cuts under Bush) may be precisely how he intends to maintain the apperance of staying true to both.
(Also posted at JUSIPER.)