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Giuliani Campaign Press Release - The Romney Reality: Mitt Romney Raised Taxes

November 28, 2007


What Campaign Trail Mitt Romney Doesn't Want You To Know About His Record On Taxes And Spending

"Not only was Mitt Romney unsuccessful in cutting taxes, he raised them. Fees went up, government spending went up, and we still don't know just how much his universal health care plan will cost Massachusetts for generations to come. By any measure, Mitt Romney was unable to bring about the fiscal discipline in Massachusetts that Mayor Rudy Giuliani brought to New York City."

--Former Massachusetts Governor Paul Cellucci

ROMNEY ACTUALLY INCREASED TAXES ON INDIVIDUALS AND SMALL BUSINESSES

Romney Proposed $500 Million In Fee Increases. (Alexandra Marks, "States Collect More Taxes, Easing Fiscal Woes," Christian Science Monitor, 4/15/05)

Romney Proposed "Nearly $400 Million In Business Tax Increases." (Alex Bolton, "Romney's Tax Record Gets A Closer Look," The Hill, 3/27/07)

Many Of Romney's "Corporate Loopholes Closings" Actually Targeted Successful Small Businesses, Including Expansions Of The "Sting Tax" And Electricity Sales Taxes For Small Companies. (Deanna M. Silva, "Corporate Law Update," Burns & Levinson LLP, www.burnslev.com/downloads/newsletters/BL-spring_2003.pdf, Spring 2003, Accessed 8/17/07; Massachusetts Department Of Revenue, "Annual Report FY2006, http://www.mass.gov/Ador/docs/dor/Publ/Annual_Rpt06/'06%20AR.pdf, 2006)

Many Of These "Loopholes" Also Targeted Individuals, Including An Income Tax Hike On Non-Resident Compensation, Including Pension Income And Sick And Vacation Pay, And A Sales Tax Hike On Software "Delivered Electronically." (Goodwin Proctor Website, "Financial Services Alert — Developments Of Note," www.goodwinprocter.com/getfile.aspx?filepath=/Files/FSAS/FSA_3_11_03.pdf, 3/11/03, Accessed 8/29/07; Massachusetts Department Of Revenue, "Annual Report FY2003," www.mass.gov/Ador/docs/dor/Publ/Annual_Rpt03/AR2003.pdf, 2003, Accessed 8/29/07; Massachusetts Department Of Revenue, "Annual Report FY2005," http://www.mass.gov/Ador/docs/dor/Publ/Annual_Rpt04/AR2004.pdf, 2006; Scott S. Greenberger, "Romney, Businesses Wrangle On 'Loopholes,'" The Boston Globe, 1/31/05)

Romney Also Initiated An Income Tax Hike On Non-Profit Organizations. (Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, "Governor's 2006 Budget: Continued Lean Times; Medicaid Accounting Change Key To Balance," Bulletin, http://www.masstaxpayers.org/data/pdf/bulletins/gover000.pdf, 2/17/05, Accessed 9/12/07)

AND ROMNEYCARE WILL LEAD TO MORE NEW TAX HIKES AND FEES

Hillary Clinton Senate Legislative Director Laurie Rubiner: "It's sort of funny to me that [Romney] would cast it as a big government solution, when it's essentially what he enacted in Massachusetts …" (Ben Smith, "Firing Back," Politico's "Ben Smith Blog," www.politico.com, 9/17/07, Accessed 9/18/07)

Romney's Campaign Website Highlights Healthcare Reform Program He Signed Into Law As One Of His Major Accomplishments. "In 2006, Governor Romney proposed and signed into law a private, market-based reform that ensures every Massachusetts citizen will have health insurance, without a government takeover and without raising taxes." (Romney For President Website, www.mittromney.com, Accessed 6/25/07)

The Wall Street Journal's Betsy McCaughey Criticized RomneyCare For Its "Substantial" Impact On Employers. "The impact of this law on employers is substantial … [T]he reality is that the $295 penalty is small potatoes compared with the other obligations in the law. Say, for example, you open a restaurant and don't provide health coverage. If the chef's spouse or child is rushed to the hospital and can't pay because they don't have insurance, you — the employer — are responsible for up to 100% of the cost of that medical care. There is no cap on your obligation. Once the costs reach $50,000, the state will start billing you and fine you $5,000 a week for every week you are late in filling out the paperwork on your uncovered employees (Section 44). These provisions are onerous enough to motivate the owners of small businesses to limit their full-time workforce to 10 people, or even to lay employees off." (Betsy McCaughey, "Romneycare's Fine Print," The Wall Street Journal, 5/5/06)

Health And Welfare Policy Expert Michael Tanner: Romney's Health Care Plan Was "Certainly A Tax Increase On" Businesses. "'This is certainly a tax increase on business,' declared Mike Tanner, health-care analyst at the free-market Cato Institute in Washington, D.C. He called the requirement that everyone get health insurance 'unprecedented in terms of government interference in people's lives.'" (Brett Amends, "For Romney, Reforms May Be Just What Doctor Ordered," Boston Herald, 4/6/06)

Cato Institute: "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 Policy Analysis, 10/24/06)

RomneyCare Created Bureaucracy Romney Once "Railed Against." "[T]he 'Connector' is a species of quasi-independent state bureaucracy with the power to set its own salaries. Former Gov. Mitt Romney once 'railed against [such agencies] for their overly generous compensation packages' — that is, until he created one." ("One Reason Why RomneyCare Costs So Much," Cato Institute's "Cato@Liberty" Blog, 1/30/07)

RomneyCare To Cost $150 Million More Than Expected Because Romney Underestimated Number Of Massachusetts Uninsured. "RomneyCare has not even been fully implemented yet, and a cost overrun of $151 million in 2007 alone is already in the cards, perhaps because the RomneyCare financial model assumed the wrong number of uninsured in Massachusetts (the Census Bureau puts it at 748,000, but RomneyCare assumes only 500,000)." (Liz Mair, Op-Ed, "What's Wrong With RomneyCare?" Human Events Online, 12/7/06)

Blue Cross Blue Shield Of Massachusetts Foundation (BCBSMA) Projects Total Spending On Health Care Reform For Fiscal 2007, 2008 And 2009 As $1.2 Billion, $1.34 Billion And $1.57 Billion, Respectively, Totaling $4.11 Billon For 3 Years. ("Massachusetts Health Care Reform Bill Summary," Blue Cross Blue Shield Of Massachusetts Foundation, 6/30/06)

BCBSMA Estimates New State Spending On Health Care Reform For Fiscal 2007, 2008, 2009 As $346.2 Million, $660.0 Million And $1.09 Billion, Respectively, Totaling $2.09 Billion For 3 Years. ("Massachusetts Health Care Reform Bill Summary," Blue Cross Blue Shield Of Massachusetts Foundation, 6/30/06)

MASSACHUSETTS' TAX BURDEN ROSE UNDER ROMNEY

Between 2002 And 2006, Massachusetts State Tax Burden Rose 10.75% (U.S. Department Of Commerce Bureau Of Economic Analysis, Regional Economic Information Systems, Downloadable Files Available At: http://www.bea.gov/regional/reis/CA1-3fn.cfm, Accessed 8/14/07; U.S. Census Bureau, http://www.census.gov/govs/statetax/02staxrank.html, Accessed 8/15/07; U.S. Census Bureau, http://www.census.gov/govs/statetax/03staxrank.html, Accessed 8/15/07; U.S. Census Bureau, http://www.census.gov/govs/statetax/04staxrank.html, Accessed 8/15/07; U.S. Census Bureau, http://www.census.gov/govs/statetax/05staxrank.html, Accessed 8/15/07; U.S. Census Bureau, http://www.census.gov/govs/statetax/06staxrank.html, Accessed 8/15/07)

Associated Industries Of Massachusetts President Richard Lord Noted That The Tax Increases Could "Discourage Employers From Staying Or Relocating" In Massachusetts. ("Business Tax Hike Looms From Loophole Legislation," Boston Business Journal, 5/27/05)

From 2002 To 2005, The Estimated Number Of New Employer Businesses In Massachusetts Decreased By 9.215% While Increasing Nationally By 22.12%. (Small Business Administration Website, "Small Business Profile: United States," http://www.sba.gov/advo/stats/profiles/03us.pdf, 2003, Accessed 9/18/07; Small Business Administration Website, "Small Business Profile: United States," http://www.sba.gov/advo/research/profiles/06us.pdf, 2006, Accessed 9/18/07; Small Business Administration Website, "Small Business Profile: Massachusetts," http://www.sba.gov/advo/stats/profiles/03ma.pdf, 2003, Accessed 9/18/07; Small Business Administration Website, "Small Business Profile: Massachusetts," http://www.sba.gov/advo/research/profiles/06ma.pdf, 2006, Accessed 9/18/07)

ROMNEY INCREASED SPENDING

According To Romney's Recommended Budgets, He Proposed Increasing Real Per Capita Government Spending By 7.77%. ("Governor's Annual Budget Recommendations, FY2003-FY2007," http://www.mass.gov/bb/, Accessed 8/20/07; U.S. Census Bureau, "Annual Estimates Of The Population For The United States, Regions, And States And For Puerto Rico: April 1, 2000 To July 1, 2006," http://www.census.gov/popest/states/NST-ann-est.html, Accessed 8/20/07; Bureau of Labor Statistics, "Consumer Price Index – All Urban Consumers: 1997-2007," http://data.bls.gov/PDQ/servlet/SurveyOutputServlet, Accessed 8/20/07)

Total Spending In Recommended Budgets Grew 22.2% Under Romney's Watch, From $29.477 Billion In Fiscal 2003 To $36.021 Billion In Fiscal 2007. ("Governor's Annual Budget Recommendations, FY2003-FY2007," http://www.mass.gov/bb/, Accessed 8/14/07)

ROMNEY FAILED TO CUT INCOME TAXES…

Romney Pledged To Reduce Income Tax Rate But Never Got The Job Done.

Massachusetts Ballot Initiative From 2000, Which Was Passed With 60% Of Vote, Called To Reduce Income Tax Rate From 5.85% On "Wages And Salaries" To Flat 5% By 2003. ("State And Local," USA Today, 11/8/00)

The Gradual Reduction Of Income Tax Was Frozen At 5.3% In 2002. (Citizens For Limited Taxation, "April 15th And The Massachusetts Tax Burden," Press Release, 4/15/05, http://www.cltg.org/cltg/clt2005/05-04-14_nr.htm, Accessed 8/15/07)

Romney Urged For Complete Reduction To 5% As Was Called For By The 2000 Ballot Initiative But Failed. (Steve Marantz, "Gov Seizes On Revenue Rise," Boston Herald, 5/4/04)

Today, Income Tax Rate In Massachusetts Is Still 5.3%. (Federation of Tax Administrators Website, State Individual Income Taxes, http://www.taxadmin.org/FTA/rate/ind_inc.html, Accessed 8/15/07)

AND OPPOSED TAX CUTS

In 2006, Romney Opposed Gas Tax Relief Measure That Would Have Saved Massachusetts Motorists 21 Cents/Gallon During Summer Months. (Russell Nichols, "Bill Proposes Gas Tax Cut To Save 21 Cents A Gallon," The Boston Globe, 5/11/06)

Romney Vetoed Senior Citizen Tax Break. (Scott Greenberger, "Romney Vows To Veto Seniors' Tax Break," The Boston Globe, 2/27/04)

Rudy Giuliani, Giuliani Campaign Press Release - The Romney Reality: Mitt Romney Raised Taxes Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/295597

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