Haley Campaign Press Release - Haley's Record: Opposed Gas Tax Increase

As governor, Nikki Haley stood up to the South Carolina establishment and adamantly refused to raise the gas tax during her first term. In her second term, Haley introduced a roads plan that would ONLY raise the gas tax if the legislature agreed to cut South Carolina's income tax rate – the highest in the Southeast. Grover Norquist, head of the anti-tax group Americans for Tax Reform, supported Haley's proposal.

A recent article in Forbes debunked the attack on Haley's record: "A review of the historical record, however, shows Senator Scott's accusations against Haley incomplete and misleading. Nikki Haley did not propose a standalone gas tax hike during any of her six years in the South Carolina governor's mansion. It was Republican state lawmakers at the time who first proposed and drove the push for a gas tax increase."

Fact checkers have denounced this attack.

• PolitiFact: Campaign ad from DeSantis PAC says Nikki Haley 'raised taxes.' That's Mostly False.
• New York Times: This is misleading. As governor, Ms. Haley rebuffed calls to increase South Carolina's gas tax as a stand-alone measure.
• Washington Post: While the ad targets a major concern for conservative voters, tax increases, it's based on a misleading claim that's been frequently used by GOP campaigns this cycle — that Haley as governor of South Carolina supported a gas-tax hike. Haley opposed a stand-alone gas tax increase as governor. In 2015, she proposed raising the gas tax only if the state reduced income tax rates from 7 percent to 5 percent. The plan, her campaign pointed out on Tuesday, died in the state legislature and gas taxes were not increased during her time in office.
• The Hill: PolitiFact labeled the gas tax claims "mostly false." Haley did advocate for raising the gas tax in 2015, but only alongside a cut in the income tax. Her proposal did not pass.

Haley adamantly opposed a standalone gas tax increase during her first term as governor.

• In 2014, when members of the legislature were pushing to increase the gas tax, Haley shot them down.
• Despite pressure from the Chamber of Commerce, the Trucking Association, and the legislature, Haley explained that she opposed a gas tax increase because she believes funding for infrastructure can be generated without raising taxes and businesses looking to come to South Carolina pay attention to the state's lower tax.
  • Haley: "Our gas tax is one of our biggest selling points."

Haley introduced a roads plan that would ONLY increase the gas tax if it was tied to income tax rate cuts. It was a net tax cut.

• In January 2015, at the beginning of her second term, Haley introduced a roads plan that would ONLY raise the gas tax if the legislature agreed to cut the income tax rate from 7 to 5 percent over 10 years.
  • Haley: "If we do all of those things, we will have better roads and a stronger economic engine for our people...That's a win-win."
  • Haley projected more than $300 million a year in new infrastructure revenue, while the tax cut would save taxpayers more than $1.7 billion a year, and taxpayers would still net almost $5.6 billion in savings over 10 years.
• Grover Norquist, head of the anti-tax group Americans for Tax Reform, supported Haley's proposal: "Grover Norquist, the primary promoter of politicians pledging not to raise taxes, is urging South Carolina lawmakers to support Gov. Nikki Haley's roads plan that includes a cut in the state's income tax."
• Haley also wanted to change how infrastructure money was being spent: "Next, let's change the way we spend our infrastructure dollars and get rid of the legislatively elected transportation commission so the condition of South Carolina's roads is no longer driven by shortsighted regionalism and political horse trading, and we stop wasting our tax money."
• Haley's roads plan died in the legislature. Gas taxes were NOT increased under her tenure.