Romney: SEN. OBAMA CALLS HIGHER TAXES "FAIR"

Claims Fiscal Restraint, But Would Raise Taxes To Pay For Big Spending

"Our nation cannot afford the Democrats and a Democrat President like Hillary Clinton who will sign tax increases into law. Instead of following Democrats, we need to lower taxes, cut spending, and grow the economy." – Gov. Mitt Romney (Gov. Mitt Romney, Press Release, 10/25/07)

For Sen. Obama, Fiscal Restraint Means Higher Taxes To Pay For More Spending:

Sen. Obama Claims He Will Bring Fiscal Restraint To Washington. "Obama loves his Republicans. He makes an open pitch for GOP voters in his stump speeches, even as he calls them out in his stump speeches, saying he can beat Mitt and Rudy and Huckabee. … He went on to contrast himself with all the Republicans in the field, saying he believes in fiscal restraint 'unlike the Republican orthodoxy.'" (Aswini Anburajan, "Obama Contrasts Himself With Romney," NBC News' First Read, http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com, Posted 12/30/07)

But Sen. Obama Would Hike Taxes To Pay For His Health Care Plan. "Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama on Tuesday offered a plan to provide health care to millions of Americans and more affordable medical insurance, financed by tax increases on the wealthy. … The experts also said Obama could pay for his plan mostly through steps that the candidate already has said he would take -- allowing President Bush's tax cuts on dividends and capital gains and on those making more than about $250,000 a year to expire in 2010 instead of acting to make them permanent. The rest of the $65 billion funding could come by raising taxes on inheritances worth more than $7 million." (Mike Glover, "Taxes On Wealthy Would Rise Under Obama Health Care Plan," The Associated Press, 5/29/07)

THE ROMNEY VISION: "THE RIGHT ANSWER IS ALWAYS TO KEEP TAXES DOWN"

Gov. Romney Rejects The Democrats' Attempts To Raise Taxes On American Families:
Gov. Romney Believes That America "Can't Afford" The Democrats' Plans To Increase Taxes. GOV. ROMNEY: "Charlie Rangel just came out this week saying he wants to put a surcharge on taxes, largest increase in the history of America. Look, more taxes are what the Democrats have in mind to fund many of Hillary Clinton's million good ideas. We can't afford that. It would slow down the economy. It would kill job creation in this country." (CNBC's "Mad Money," 10/28/07)

Gov. Romney: "The Right Answer Is Always To Keep Taxes Down." GOV. ROMNEY: "The right answer is always to keep taxes down. Don't add new taxes, but instead allow the American people and the entrepreneurial spirit to grow our economy. That's the best way to get revenues for government and the best ways to get good jobs for our people." (CNBC's "Mad Money," 10/28/07)

Gov. Romney Opposes The Democrats' Plans To Roll Back The Bush Tax Cuts. GOV. ROMNEY: "Let me tell you what I'd do, as opposed to what Hillary Clinton would do with regard to our tax and spending policies. First of all, I would make the Bush tax cuts permanent immediately – all of them, not some of them, but all of them." (Gov. Mitt Romney, Remarks To The Club For Growth, 10/17/07)

SEN. OBAMA: A TAX HIKE "RESTORES SOME FAIRNESS"

The Democrats Support Raising Taxes On American Families:

Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) Said That Rolling Back The Bush Tax Cuts "Simply Restores Some Fairness." OBAMA: "Those kinds of progressive tax steps, while closing loopholes and rolling back the Bush tax cuts to the top 1 percent, simply restores some fairness and a sense that we're all in this together as opposed to each of us being in it on our own." (NBC's Democratic Presidential Candidate Debate At Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, 10/30/07)

Sen. Obama Would Raise The Cap On Social Security Payroll Taxes. OBAMA: "I think the best way to approach this is to adjust the cap on the payroll tax so that people like myself are paying a little bit more and people who are in need are protected. That is the option that I will be pushing forward." (NBC's "Meet The Press," 11/11/07)

Sen. Obama Even Supports A Tax Increase On Himself. NBC's TIM RUSSERT: "A tax increase for some?" OBAMA: "Tax increase for people like myself probably." (NBC's "Meet The Press," 11/11/07

Sen. Obama Wants Americans To Pay "A Little Bit More," Even "Middle Class Folks." OBAMA: "So what I've said -- and I know some others on this stage have said -- is that among the options that are available, the best one is to lift the cap on the payroll tax, potentially exempting folks in the middle -- middle-class folks -- but making sure that the wealthy are paying more of their fair share, a little bit more." (NBC's Democratic Presidential Candidate Debate At Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, 10/30/07)

STATEMENT BY MCCAIN NEW HAMPSHIRE VICE CHAIR CHUCK DOUGLAS ON MITT ROMNEY

U.S. Senator John McCain's New Hampshire Vice Chair, former Congressman Chuck Douglas (R-NH), today issued the following statement:

"From his claims of being a 'lifelong hunter' to receiving the NRA's endorsement to marching with Martin Luther King, Jr., it's clear that Mitt Romney has trouble with the truth. His latest attacks are yet another example of his complete inability to level with the voters of New Hampshire. The facts are clear: Romney refused to endorse the Bush tax cuts he now claims to champion, maybe because he was too busy raising taxes in Massachusetts by over $700 million per year -- more than any other state in his first year in office. New Hampshire voters expect and deserve integrity and authenticity in their leaders, not someone who changes his positions to fit the politics of the moment and can't seem to tell the truth."

THE ROMNEY RECORD: REJECTING REAGAN, RAISING TAXES

Romney: "I Was An Independent During The Time Of Reagan-Bush. I'm Not Trying To Return To Reagan-Bush." (Joe Battenfeld, "Conservative Group Yanks Its Support For Mitt," The Boston Herald, 10/27/94)

· Watch Romney Say "I'm Not Trying To Return To Reagan-Bush"

As Governor, Romney Raised Taxes And Fees By About $700 Million Per Year -- More Than Any Other State In 2003

Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation: More Than $700 Million Per Year In Increased Fees And Taxes Under Romney. "Fees and taxes have increased more than $700 million a year under Governor Mitt Romney and Lieutenant Governor Kerry Healey, a leading budget specialist said yesterday. Michael J. Widmer -- president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, which closely tracks state finances -- said the state has raised roughly $740 million to $750 million per year by increasing fees and corporate taxes gained from what the Romney administration describes as 'closing loopholes.'" (Brian Mooney, "Analyst Puts Increase In Fees, Taxes At $700m," The Boston Globe, 9/27/06)

· "[R]omney ... Approved Hundreds Of Millions In Higher Fees And Fines Including Raising The Cost Of Getting A Marriage License, Filing A Court Case, Buying A House Or Renewing A Drivers License." (Steve LeBlanc, "Romney, In Change Of Heart, Signs No-New-Taxes Pledge," The Associated Press, 1/5/07)

· Romney Raised State Fees By Over $500 Million In 2003 Alone, "Far More Than Any Other State In The Nation" That Year. "A 2003 survey of states by the National Conference Of State Legislatures found Massachusetts imposed at least $501.5 million in fee hikes, far more than any other state in the nation that year." (Steve LeBlanc, "Romney, In Change Of Heart, Signs No-New-Taxes Pledge," The Associated Press, 1/5/07)

Beacon Hill Institute: Romney's Fee Increases Worked To "Eliminate" The Benefits Many Massachusetts Residents Received From 2003 Bush Tax Cuts. "If the Bush tax cuts revive the stalling economy they will do so in spite of the large fee increases levied by states across the U.S. with Massachusetts leading the way. If anything, these state fee increases not only diminish, but, for some people, even eliminate, the tax cuts passed by Congress and signed by the President." (Christopher Boyd, "Fees Put A Crimp On Tax Cuts," Beacon Hill Institute's NewsLink, Vol. 8, No. 1, Fall 2003)

· Beacon Hill Institute: "When it is not lurching for the last dollar, the grabbing hand of government loves nothing more than the label conveniently called a 'fee.'" (Christopher Boyd, "Fees Put A Crimp On Tax Cuts," Beacon Hill Institute's NewsLink, Vol. 8, No. 1, Fall 2003)

The Boston Globe: Romney's Fee Increases "May Have Enhanced [Massachusetts'] Reputation As 'Taxachusetts.'" "This time it's fees, not taxes. Still, Massachusetts may have enhanced its reputation as 'Taxachusetts.' A survey of states grappling with spending crises has found that Massachusetts imposed more fee hikes than any other state in the nation this year -- at least $500 million. Governor Mitt Romney and the Legislature, faced with a multibillion dollar shortfall, made it more expensive to get a marriage license or a divorce, file a court case, buy a house, renew a driver's license, or tap into a host of other state services." (Rick Klein, "Mass. Is Called No. 1 In Fee Hikes," The Boston Globe, 7/24/03)

Romney Refused To Endorse President Bush's 2003 Tax Cut

"Governor Mitt Romney Refused ... To Endorse Tax Cuts At The Heart Of President Bush's Economic Program ..." (Wayne Washington and Glen Johnson, "Romney Weighs In -- Carefully -- On Bush Tax-Cut Plan," The Boston Globe, 4/11/03)

· Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) Praised Romney For Refusing To Endorse Bush Tax Cuts: "I was very pleased [Romney did not endorse the tax cuts] ... Here you have a freshman governor refusing to endorse a tax cut presented by a Republican president at the height of his wartime popularity." (Wayne Washington and Glen Johnson, "Romney Weighs In -- Carefully -- On Bush Tax-Cut Plan," The Boston Globe, 4/11/03)

· Romney Said He Wouldn't Be "Cheerleader" For Tax Relief Plan He Didn't Agree With. "According to the observer, who spoke on condition of anonymity, Romney told the delegation that he 'won't be a cheerleader' for proposals he doesn't agree with, 'but I have to keep a solid relationship with the White House.'" (Wayne Washington and Glen Johnson, "Romney Weighs In -- Carefully -- On Bush Tax-Cut Plan," The Boston Globe, 4/11/03)

· Romney Said He'd Let All-Democrat Congressional Delegation "Sort That Out." "Pressed further, [Romney] said, 'I don't wade into national politics. I will let our delegation sort that out.'" (Wayne Washington and Glen Johnson, "Romney Weighs In -- Carefully -- On Bush Tax-Cut Plan," The Boston Globe, 4/11/03)

Outside Experts And Business Groups Criticize Romney's Record On Taxes

Cato Institute: Romney's Claim That He Didn't Raised Taxes Is "Mostly A Myth." "[R]omney will likely also be eager to push the message that he was a governor who stood by a no-new-taxes pledge. That's mostly a myth. His first budget included no general tax increases but did include a $500 million increase in various fees. He later proposed $140 in business tax hikes through the closing of 'loopholes' in the tax code." (Stephen Slivinski, "Fiscal Policy Report Card On America's Governors: 2006," Cato Institute, 2006, p. 26)

· Cato: "If you consider the massive costs to taxpayers that his universal health care plan will inflict once he's left office, Romney's tenure is clearly not a triumph of small-government activism." (Stephen Slivinski, "Fiscal Policy Report Card On America's Governors: 2006," Cato Institute, 2006, p. 26)

Cato Institute Gave Romney A "C" For His Fiscal Record As Governor. (Cato Institute Website, www.cato.org, Accessed 1/21/07)

Beacon Hill Institute: "Raising Fees While Denying They Are Tax Increases Is A Political Sleight Of Hand." (Christopher Boyd, "Fees Put A Crimp On Tax Cuts," Beacon Hill Institute's NewsLink, Vol. 8, No. 1, Fall 2003)

Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation's Michael Widmer: Romney Policies Resulted In Higher Taxes. "[O]fficials from the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation say Romney has yet to come clean with national conservatives. ... Foundation president Michael Widmer said several of Romney's policies while governor resulted in higher taxes, including local aid cuts, fee hikes and changes to corporate tax codes." (Casey Ross and Dave Wedge, "It's official: Mitt's In Mix For 08," Boston Herald, 2/7/07)