2015 Governor's State of the State speeches: on Tax Reform

Tom Wolf: Cut property tax; raise sales tax & income tax

In fact, under my plan, many senior citizens will see their property taxes eliminated altogether. My plan raises the personal income tax to 3.7 percent. And it will make up for lost revenue by increasing the sales tax from 6 to 6.6 percent, while broadening the base to include services that currently are not taxed because special interest groups have lobbied for special exemptions. These changes will allow us to make a historic commitment to our schools.

John Kasich: $3 billion in tax cuts for job creators

[My budget represents] the ideas that are producing the economic growth which is making so many of the other good things possible. These accomplishments are sending a message to job creators around the state, around the country, and around the globe that Ohio is open for business. When I tell them that we were $8 billion in the hole and now we're $2 billion in the black, that we've got $3 billion worth of tax cuts, that we've got a private sector entity that can respond to them quickly--it's hard for them to believe. But we've been able to keep growth in check so that there's money to give back to Ohioans in the form of a $500 million tax cut because we have restrained ourselves.

Chris Christie: I will veto any income tax increases that come before me

I have vetoed four income tax increases passed by this body. And make no mistake: I will veto any more income tax increases that come before me. And I will do it for one simple reason--the higher our taxes are, the fewer people and businesses will come to New Jersey and the more who will consider leaving.

Raising taxes is the old Trenton way, and it didn't work. Taxes were raised 115 times in the eight years before 2010. People and businesses in turn didn't support them and left our state. Between 2004 and 2008 the departure of wealth, investment, and income was staggering--some $70 billion left the state. We have begun a new direction and we need to go further, not reverse course.

Mike Pence: Simplify the tax code

Scott Walker: Reduced property taxes by $141 in 4 years; more coming

If property taxes had grown over the past four years at the rate they did between 2006 and 2010, a typical homeowner would have paid $385 more in property taxes this past December. Over the last four years combined, the cumulative difference is more than $800. That's real money.

We heard you loud and clear. Thanks for all of the nice notes and emails and calls to tell us how your property taxes went down. My pledge to you is that property taxes four years from now will be lower than they were in 2014. We reduced income and employer taxes, too. And we started taking less out of paychecks for withholding last April, so you could keep more of your hard-earned money.