Romney Campaign Press Release - In Case You Missed It: Governor Romney At The Club For Growth

Governor Mitt Romney

Excerpts Of Remarks At The Club For Growth (Live Via Video)

Washington, D.C.

Governor Romney On The Line-Item Veto:

Governor Romney: "I should also note that perhaps the best way to get our spending down was to be able to use the line-item veto. I used that 844 times as Governor of Massachusetts. I'm glad I had it."

Governor Romney On His Conservative Blueprint To Lower Taxes:

Governor 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.

"Number two, I'd like to see marginal rates cut across the board. I'll tell you, if marginal rate cuts were good enough for Ronald Reagan and Art Laffer and Milton Friedman, they're good enough for me. I want to see our marginal rates brought down in this country.

"I also don't believe it's fair for Americans to get taxed when they earn their money, taxed when they save their money and taxed when they die. So of course, I want to kill the death tax once and for all.

"I also want to put in place a special middle-class savings plan, which has a lot of associated benefits. I want middle-class Americans, and this is 95 percent of Americans who are earning $200,000 a year or less, I want these individuals to be investing in the future, to be saving, to be preparing for their own retirement, their down payment on their home, the education for their kids instead of looking to government for all these things. And to do that, I would propose that middle-income Americans – $200,000 a year or less in income – have a new tax rate on interest, dividends and capital gains, and that tax rate is absolutely zero. And I believe with that kind of change in our tax policy you'll see more savings and more investment in America.

"Now with regard to corporate taxes, it's never popular to talk about lowering corporate taxes. But when corporations have more money, they're able to invest in the future. And when corporations look at America, and they see that we have the highest tax rates in the industrial world, right next to Japan – either we're the highest of they're the highest – corporations are going to increasingly establish enterprises and enterprise elsewhere. Now you, of course, know what Ireland did – Ireland was the basket case in Europe – lowered its taxes It's now attracted all sorts of jobs, and is now booming.

"The wrong course for America is to do what Hillary Clinton suggested which is to raise taxes on corporations. The right course is to lower taxes on corporations, which is something I'd also like to do, to make sure that we're competitive, at least, with the other nations in the industrial world."

Governor Romney On Tort Reform:

Governor Romney: "And you recognize that, well perhaps a nation like ours will lead the rest of the world forever only if we have a technological, innovative lead. A big nation will pass us unless we're always at the forefront. And last year, America's corporations spent more money on tort claims than they spent on research and development. That's wrong. We have got to rein in excessive tort awards."

Governor Romney On Trade:


Governor Romney: "Now, there are some other issues besides spending and taxing that relate to the growth of our economy. One is trade. You know the Democrats are going to be backing away from trade. We want to open markets to American goods and American services. It's been calculated that trade enhances the net worth of American families, the income of American families, by $9,000 a year. It's a good thing."