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Romney Campaign Press Release - In Case You Missed It: Governor Romney At Americans For Prosperity

October 06, 2007

Governor Mitt Romney

Remarks At Americans For Prosperity "Defending The American Dream" Summit

Washington, D.C.

October 5, 2007

Governor Romney On His Conservative Blueprint To Lower Taxes:

Governor Romney: "Let me tell you where I stand on taxes. First, I want to kill the death tax once and for all." (APPLAUSE)

"And I want to make the Bush tax cuts permanent." (APPLAUSE)

"I want to lower marginal tax rates for all Americans." (APPLAUSE)

"Now, which of these you get depends on how loud you clap for each one, so pay attention." (LAUGHTER)

"I want to hold the line on Social Security taxes." (APPLAUSE)

"I want to stop the inflation creep of the Alternative Minimum Tax." (APPLAUSE)

"And I want to lower, yes lower, corporate taxes." (APPLAUSE)

"If you want to see more jobs and better wages and more government revenue, then the idea is to get corporate taxes down. Ours are the highest in the industrialized world, right there next to Japan, some people say we're ahead, some say we're slightly below. But one thing is clear, look at Japan's anemic growth. That's not what we want.

"So lower corporate taxes. And then finally one more thing, I say on the campaign trail, it's not fair that we get taxed when we earn our money, taxed when we save our money, and taxed when we die. And I've already talked about the death tax, let me talk about savings. Under my plan for modest income and middle income American families, $200,000 dollars in income a year and less, there should be a new tax rate on savings. And the tax rate on interest, dividends, and capital gains should be absolutely zero!" (APPLAUSE)

"Now, I'm proud to be the only leading GOP candidate or Democratic candidate for that matter that has signed the tax pledge from the Americans for Tax Reform that's something Grover Norquist put together." (APPLAUSE)

"Yeah, it is a big deal, in a race like this with so many people saying they're for lowering taxes, I wanted to get out there and make sure people heard me loud and clear."

To watch Governor Romney's remarks, please see: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJWyymHpoPk

To read more about Governor Romney's conservative blueprint to lower taxes, please click here .

Governor Romney On His Conservative Blueprint To Lower Spending:


Governor Romney: "I'm committed to lowering taxes, and I'm just as committed to lowering spending." (APPLAUSE)

"Unfortunately, increased spending on government programs has become the standard by which Congress measures their commitment to solving a problem. They bought into this idea that those who are promoting a culture of dependency are selling and that is that spending is the measure of how much you care. I used to try that on my parents at Christmas time – didn't work." (LAUGHTER)

"I've made a pledge to the American people and I'll repeat it here tonight: if Congress sends me appropriations bills which exceed inflation less one percent, I'll veto those bills." (APPLAUSE)

"And if Congress doesn't have the stomach to do the cutting themselves, then give me the line-item veto that other governors have, because I like to veto by the way. I did a lot of that. I sort of miss vetoing. Actually, as governor, I vetoed line-items 844 times. I can't wait to do that in Washington." (APPLAUSE)

"Now, you may have seen or perhaps heard about my ad about Republican spending. When we had both branches in the government – both the legislative and executive branch – we sometimes didn't act much like Republicans. We spent too much, we earmarked too much and our ethical standards became the punch line for Jay Leno. When Republicans act like Democrats, America loses. It's time for Republicans to act like Republicans." (APPLAUSE)

To watch Governor Romney's remarks, please see: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j07MMCSsnoc

Governor Romney On A Level Trading Field And Embedded Taxes:

Governor Romney: "Let me mention one more thing, and that is, you know in the international world, our products carry a very heavy load. It's known as embedded taxes. It's estimated that our products face about a $100 billion disadvantage around the world. And the reason for that is that because a WTO ruling, they say that the taxes Europeans put on our goods – direct taxes, like the VAT – those the government can refund to exporters. But the taxes that are embedded on our products – indirect taxes, like income taxes – those we can't refund to exporters. And as a result, we have an unlevel playing field around the world. And if I'm president, I'm going to go to work to make sure that are trade is on a level playing field around the world." (APPLAUSE)

To watch Governor Romney's remarks, please see: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_r8sHlGNhw

To read the National Association of Manufacturers' wrap-up of Governor Romney's speech, please see: http://blog.nam.org/archives/2007/10/mitt_romney_dis.php

Read Governor Romney's Full Strategy For A Stronger America:

To read more about Governor Romney's agenda to change Washington, please click on the Strategy for a Stronger America , a compilation of his policy proposals for conservative change and to meet the new generation of challenges confronting our nation. Since January 2007, Governor Romney has outlined more than 50 different policy proposals. From defeating violent Jihadists to protecting traditional values, Governor Romney believes we can build a stronger America by taking Washington apart and putting it back together based on conservative principles that strengthen our national defense, our economy and our families.

Mitt Romney, Romney Campaign Press Release - In Case You Missed It: Governor Romney At Americans For Prosperity Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/296670

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