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Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney鈥檚 admission that he has been paying federal taxes at close to a 15 percent rate 鈥渋s going to generate a great deal of debate鈥� about fixing the nation鈥檚 tax structure, says Antonio Villaraigosa, mayor of Los Angeles and president of the US Conference of Mayors.

鈥淚f you ask the vast majority of Americans right now, they don鈥檛 want to raise their taxes but they do want to make investments and they do want to close tax loopholes,鈥� Mayor Villaraigosa said at a Monitor-hosted breakfast for reporters.

鈥淭here should be a real discussion and a real debate around fixing our tax structure,鈥� the mayor said. 鈥淭he corporate tax rate is too high鈥�. The capital gains rate is too low. There should be a middle ground here to spur investments.鈥�

The maximum tax rate on long-term capital gains is 15 percent. The same maximum 15 percent rate applies to dividend income on stocks held a required period of time. Mr. Romney鈥檚 financial disclosure forms indicate that he has benefited from those rates on capital gains and dividends. He has not released his tax returns but said he would do so in April.

Meanwhile, corporate advocates argue that the maximum federal tax rate on corporate profits (35 percent) makes it difficult for American firms to compete with foreign firms taxed at a lower rate. Some academic studies indicate that, by using various tax breaks, many companies have an effective tax rate which is significantly lower than 35 percent.

Villaraigosa argued that his views are 鈥渘ot about taxing the rich.鈥� Instead, he said, 鈥淲e have always stood for the proposition that we should have a fair tax code 鈥� one that acknowledges that when you make a little, you pay a little to the government. When you make more, you pay more. That is not a radical notion.鈥�