Bill Owens’ campaign office says the congressman’s opponent, Matt Doheny of Watertown, is more interested in lowering taxes for the wealthy than for anyone else.

In a statement to the press, the Owens campaign said that Doheny “supports the flat tax, a system of taxation that favors the wealthy while instituting a disproportionate income tax on middle-class families.”

In the Issues section of his campaign web site, http://www.dohenyforcongress.com/, Doheny says he does favor a flat tax.

“Congress should approve a flat tax for all taxpayers. Income would be taxed only once at a reasonable, low flat rate for all, removing the double taxation on dividends and savings.”

“America needs a flatter, simpler system for taxpayers to pay their income taxes and one that levels the playing field for American-made products to compete against foreign competitors -- making it easier for companies to keep people working here,” the Doheny site says.

“Matt Doheny’s plan to tinker with our tax system may serve his Wall Street allies well, but it’s wrong for hard-working Upstate middle-class families,” the Owens statement said.

The Owens campaign described the flat tax as “a system of taxation that favors the wealthy while instituting a disproportionate income tax on middle-class families.”

Said Clay Schroers, campaign manager for Owens, “While Congressman Owens tries to compromise to extend tax cuts for the middle class, Matt Doheny continues to support plans that will only serve his former coworkers on Wall Street, not the hard working families of Upstate New York. His support for the flat tax shows exactly who Matt Doheny will fight for in Congress, and it is not Upstate communities.”