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Richard Blumenthal on Tax Reform

 

 


Nation's wealthiest don't need extension of Bush tax breaks

McMahon confronted Blumenthal with his 1989 vote in the state Senate on an $850 million tax increase. Blumenthal defended his record in the General Assembly, which preceded his 20-year career as attorney general.

"Let me remind you, when he was in the Legislature, one year he voted for an $850 million tax increase that affected middle-class Americans," said McMahon. "We're still paying for it today," said McMahon. "And he almost doubled state spending. We cannot afford another tax-and-spend senator in Washington. We can't afford you Mr. Blumenthal, we've had enough of you already."

McMahon said Blumenthal would allow many of the Bush-era tax breaks to end with this year's calendar, to which Blumenthal replied that the nation's wealthiest don't need them and that he would focus on helping small businesses.

"I certainly want to say to everyone here that I believe that now in time of recession we should not raise taxes on anyone, certainly not on the middle class," McMahon said.

Source: Connecticut Post coverage of 2010 CT Senate debate , Oct 7, 2010

Don't hold middle-income tax cut hostage to wealthiest 2%

Blumenthal said, "I would not hold the middle-income tax cut hostage to a tax cut for the wealthiest 2 percent."

McMahon, in rebuttal, reiterated her position on tax cuts: "We should not raise taxes on anyone, certainly not on the middle class," she said. She painted Blumenthal as a career politician who, as a state legislator, voted for a record tax increase. "I don't think we can send Mr. Blumenthal to Washington with his tax-and-spend philosophy," McMahon said.

Source: Wilton Villager coverage of 2010 CT Senate debate , Oct 7, 2010

Extending Bush tax cuts for wealthiest 2% is wrong

Q: Would you roll back the Bush-era tax cuts?

BLUMENTHAL: I support extending tax cuts for the middle class. My opponent would vote against tax cuts for the middle class unless and until the wealthiest 2% get tax cuts too. I think that is wrong.

McMAHON: I would make the current tax law permanent. Allowing the tax law to change as proposed would negatively affect our most successful small businesses and our seniors. It is estimated that $1.8 billion will leave the state and be in the hands of Washington politicians if the proposed tax increases go into effect. Only four states in the union will be hit harder than Connecticut. The tax hikes would significantly affect the economy in Connecticut, most notably in the number of jobs and change in personal income. From 2011 to 2020, the state of Connecticut would:

Source: Connecticut Jewish Ledger coverage of 2010 CT Senate debate , Sep 29, 2010

Extend Bush tax cuts only for people earning under $250K

Turning our economy around is a complex task that will require tackling solutions on multiple fronts. Here are some of the things I believe we must do:

Extending the Bush Tax Cuts for the Middle Class. In this economy, we cannot raise taxes on struggling middle-class families. For this reason, I support extending the Bush tax cuts for the 95% of Americans making under a quarter of a million dollars a year.

Source: 2010 Senate campaign website, richardblumenthal.com "Issues" , Aug 12, 2010

Minimum tax rate of 30% for those earning over $1 million.

Blumenthal co-sponsored Paying a Fair Share Act