Nevada State
Senate Candidate Becky Harris Supports Higher Taxes
by Paul
Blair of Americans for Tax Reform
Monday, May 12th, 2014, 3:01 PM
In her bid to secure the Republican nomination for Nevada's
9th state Senate district, Becky Harris refuses to take higher taxes off the
table by signing the Taxpayer Protection Pledge. At a public forum, Nevada
voters asked her to explain her position and her answers were telling...
Question: "Economics and taxes are very important to me. Have you signed the No Tax Pledge and if not, why?"Becky Harris: "That's a great question! I have not signed the No Tax Pledge and I'm not going to sign the No Tax Pledge because I'm interested in looking at comprehensive tax reform."
First off, the Taxpayer Protection Pledge does not require
opposition to revenue neutral tax reform; any tax increase must simply be tied
to an offsetting tax cut of at least equal size. That
information is available publicly here and is sent with a copy of the
Pledge to every candidate for state and federal office. FactCheck.org
has debunked this myth, summarizing that the pledge
"explicitly allows elimination of any specific tax deduction or credit if
matched dollar-for-dollar by an overall cut in rates."
But Becky didn't stop there.
Becky Harris: "I think it's a little disingenuous to sign a No New Tax Pledge… signing the Pledge kind of limits maneuverability and ability to look at a variety of different options that might be on the table."
For someone who takes pride in being a small business owner,
this is concerning. Clearly Becky knows exactly what her plans are if she wins:
raise the overall tax burden on hardworking Nevada taxpayers and small
businesses. The only thing disingenuous in this race is Becky Harris's claim
that the Pledge gets in the way of tax reform. The reality is that it gets in
the way of her plan to grow government and raise taxes.
That's precisely why nearly
every US House and Senate Republican has signed the Taxpayer Protection
Pledge, including Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan and House Ways and Means
Committee Chairman Dave Camp, two of the most powerful budget and tax-writing
Republicans in Washington. Senator Dean Heller, Representative Mark Amodei, and
Representative Joe Heck are also signers of the federal Pledge.
The only people who use the "Pledge gets in the way of
tax reform" line are people who admittedly want to raise taxes.
The Pledge doesn't get in the way of tax reform at the state
level either. The most recent state to pass significant tax reform was North
Carolina. The
Governor, who is a Pledge signer, signed a historic tax reform package into law
last summer, which cut the personal income tax, reduced the corporate
income tax, and eliminated a number of credits and deductions along the way.
The plan was Pledge-compliant, supported by ATR, and reduced the tax burden on
taxpayers and small businesses in The Tar Heel State.
In her bid to fill the seat currently held by Democrat
Justin Jones, Harris faces Republican
Vick Gill, who has made a personal written commitment to oppose higher
taxes by signing the Pledge.
"I applaud Vick
Gill for signing the Taxpayer Protection Pledge. Gill has made the bold
decision to put his anti-tax rhetoric in writing and voters know exactly where
he stands on taxes now," said Grover Norquist, president of
Americans for Tax Reform.
"The Pledge
clearly and unambiguously endorses revenue-neutral tax reform and equally
prohibits a net tax increase. To suggest otherwise reveals that your true
motives include increasing the overall tax burden on Nevada taxpayers and small
businesses. Becky Harris's willingness to raise taxes should concern
voters in the 9th District," continued Norquist.
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FAMOUS LAST WORDS
"Nevada’s infamous debate prima donna and
multiple-state vacation homeowner Mark Hutchison emerged today from his
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