When the legislature wanted to bloat the budget with pork, Steve Scalise stood up for taxpayers. He found nearly $30 million in wasteful spending. Steve was an outspoken critic of tax increases like the “Stelly Plan.” When Gov. Blanco tried to raise taxe
and blow the state’s spending cap, Scalise was her most vocal critic in opposing those irresponsible proposals. As liberals tried to raise our taxes, Scalise fought them every time. He has never voted for a tax increase and never will.
Source: Campaign website, www.stevescalise.com, “Issues”
May 8, 2008
Signed the Taxpayer Protection Pledge
Steve Scalise was the first candidate for Congress to sign the Taxpayer Protection Pledge. Steve supports making the Bush tax reductions permanent, so that our families and businesses know how much they can save and invest from year to year. He believes
we can create good, high-paying jobs and encourage personal savings by lowering the tax burden on our families. With the right leadership, we can restore fiscal discipline in Washington and promote a tax policy that is fair to our families and businesses
Source: Campaign website, www.stevescalise.com, “Issues”
May 8, 2008
Voted NO on extending AMT exemptions to avoid hitting middle-income.
Congressional Summary:Amends the Internal Revenue Code to:
increase and extend through 2008 the alternative minimum tax (AMT) exemption amounts;
extend through 2008 the offset of personal tax credits against AMT tax liabilities;
Reference: Alternative Minimum Tax Relief Act;
Bill H.R.6275
; vote number 2008-455
on Jun 25, 2008
Taxpayer Protection Pledge: no new taxes.
Scalise signed Americans for Tax Reform "Taxpayer Protection Pledge"
Politicians often run for office saying they won't raise taxes, but then quickly turn their backs on the taxpayer. The idea of the Pledge is simple enough: Make them put their no-new-taxes rhetoric in writing.
In the Taxpayer Protection Pledge, candidates and incumbents solemnly bind themselves to oppose any and all tax increases. While ATR has the role of promoting and monitoring the Pledge, the Taxpayer Protection Pledge is actually made to a candidate's constituents, who are entitled to know where candidates stand before sending them to the capitol. Since the Pledge is a prerequisite for many voters, it is considered binding as long as an individual holds the office for which he or she signed the Pledge.
Since its rollout with the endorsement of President Reagan in 1986, the pledge has become de rigeur for Republicans seeking office, and is a necessity for Democrats running in Republican districts.
Source: Americans for Tax Reform "Taxpayer Protection Pledge" 10-ATR on Aug 12, 2010
No European-style VAT (value-added tax).
Scalise signed H.RES.1346
RESOLUTION Opposing the imposition of a value-added tax:
Whereas a value-added tax (VAT) is a type of sales tax that is assessed on goods at every stage of production;
Whereas a VAT is a hidden tax that is ultimately passed along to consumers, but is embedded into the price of goods and services and therefore not transparent to the consumer;
Whereas the average tax burden levied by the Federal Government since 1980 has been 18% of GDP;
Whereas, within the next 15 years, Federal taxes are projected to rise to the highest level in US history;
Whereas adding a VAT on top of the existing Federal income tax would increase the burden on United States taxpayers to unprecedented levels;
Whereas the average VAT rate in Europe has risen from 5% when the tax was first introduced in the 1960s to 20% today;
Whereas European countries that have imposed a VAT have seen their total tax burden rise to an average of over 40% of GDP;
Whereas such high levels of
taxation and spending crowd out private investment, which stifles economic growth and leads to chronically high levels of unemployment;
Whereas the IRS has calculated that US taxpayers spend approximately $200 billion and 7.6 billion hours a year to comply with Federal tax laws;
Whereas a VAT would only add another layer of complexity and compliance costs to a fundamentally unsound tax system;
Whereas the burden of a VAT would fall most heavily on low-income and middle-class Americans; and
Whereas a VAT would do nothing to restore fiscal accountability in Washington, but would simply bankroll wasteful and inefficient Federal Government spending:
Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That--
It is the sense of the House of Representatives that imposing a value-added tax would be a massive tax increase that would cripple families on fixed income and only further push back the US economic recovery; and
the House of Representatives opposes a value-added tax.
Source: Opposing the Imposition of a VAT 10-HRs1346 on May 11, 2010
