2016 Governor's State of the State speeches: on Tax Reform


Bruce Rauner: Reduce property tax for homeowners & businesses

One of the most critical ways to lower our cost of living and compete for more good jobs is to reduce our property tax burden. We have the second-highest property taxes in the country. They are crushing homeowners and small business owners from one end of the state to the other. In many cases, people are paying more in property taxes over the course of living in their home than the original purchase price.
Source: 2016 State of the State speech to Illinois legislature Jan 27, 2016

Bill Walker: Proposes modest increase in income tax

I'm proposing a modest income tax linked to the federal income tax. It amounts to less than 1 percent of the gross income for the average Alaskan. We selected an income tax over a sales tax for a couple of reasons. We wanted out-of-state workers who commute back and forth to Alaska to contribute to the solution. We also were sensitive to local governments that already have a sales tax. We didn't want to stack a state sales tax on top of a local sales tax.
Source: 2016 State of the State speech to Alaska legislature Jan 21, 2016

Bill Walker: Increase on alcohol and tobacco tax

We are also proposing an increase to the alcohol and tobacco tax. I think of these as user fees. Alaskans are free to make their own choices, but there are significant public health and safety costs related to alcohol and tobacco use. These hit our general fund hard, and these taxes help offset those costs.
Source: 2016 State of the State speech to Alaska legislature Jan 21, 2016

Jack Markell: Reduce corporate tax to increase competitiveness

It's also time for us to modernize our tax code to promote job creation. I applaud the House of Representatives for passing the Delaware Competes Act, which recognizes that we must change our corporate income tax laws so that Delaware is more competitive--and so that companies have a bigger incentive to expand in our state.
Source: 2016 State of the State speech to Delaware legislature Jan 21, 2016

Jerry Brown: California needs a larger Rainy Day Fund

The next recession, even if it were only of average intensity, would cut our revenues by $55 billion over three years. That is why it is imperative to build up the Rainy Day Fund--which was recently overwhelmingly approved by the voters--and invest our temporary surpluses in badly needed infrastructure or in other ways that will not lock in future spending. California has a very progressive but volatile income tax that provides 70 percent of General Fund revenues. If we are to minimize the zigzag of spend-cut-spend that this tax system inevitably produces, we must build a very large reserve.
Source: 2016 State of the State speech to California legislature Jan 21, 2016

Scott Walker: Reduce property, income and production tax burden

Tonight, I am proud to say that property and income taxes are down from where they were when we took office. We didn't just slow the rate of increase; we actually reduced the tax burden from where it was five years ago. We also helped farmers and manufacturers in our state with a production tax credit that is phased in through this year. This helps some of our most important industries.
Source: 2016 State of the State speech to Wisconsin legislature Jan 19, 2016

Peter Ricketts: Provide tax relief through property tax regulations

Last year, we successfully worked together to provide $408 million in direct dollar-for-dollar property tax relief through the Property Tax Credit Relief Fund. This year, we must make structural changes to property taxes through a bill that we propose to tighten spending and levy limits and to limit the statewide aggregate growth of agricultural property valuations to three percent. We must prioritize property tax relief, it's my number one priority this year.
Source: 2016 State of the State speech to Nebraska legislature Jan 14, 2016

Andrew Cuomo: Tax cuts as part of strategy to create jobs

We limited the state's new spending to less than 2% a year. We passed a 2% property tax cap that has brought welcome relief to the citizens of our state and we have cut income, corporate and estate taxes. In total, we have reduced the tax burden on New Yorkers by $114 billion dollars. Why is that important? Because reducing taxes is part of our strategy to create jobs.
Source: 2016 State of the State speech to New York legislature Jan 13, 2016

Chris Christie: Abolish the estate tax to incentivize people to stay in NJ

Right now, New Jersey imposes an estate and inheritance tax. 14 states currently have estate taxes, and 6 have inheritance taxes. But only New Jersey and Maryland have both and we also have the lowest exemption threshold in the country. I aim to abolish the Estate Tax because it penalizes the next generation and harms the long-term economic future. Our tax structure incentivizes people to move to other states as they age--and when they do, to take their businesses and capital with them.
Source: 2016 State of the State speech to New Jersey legislature Jan 12, 2016

Rick Scott: End sales tax on manufacturing machinery and equipment

Because we temporarily ended the sales tax on manufacturing machinery and equipment, 1st Choice Aerospace has been able to save money and reinvest it into their business.and that is why we must permanently end the sales tax on manufacturing machinery and equipment this year. If not, it will effectively be a tax increase on small businesses like 1st Choice Aerospace.
Source: 2016 State of the State speech to Florida legislature Jan 12, 2016

Sam Brownback: Strengthen property tax lid

Since 1999, when the property tax lid was lifted, Kansans have seen those tax rates increased by 24 percent, and property tax revenue increase by 92%. Understandably, people do not like this. Last year, you acted to place a lid on property taxes--that was a positive step. I would welcome legislation that strengthens the property tax lid by closing the existing loopholes and puts it in place sooner.
Source: 2016 State of the State speech to Kansas legislature Jan 12, 2016

  • The above quotations are from 2016 Governor's State of the State speeches.
  • Click here for definitions & background information on Tax Reform.
  • Click here for other issues (main summary page).
  • Click here for more quotes by Chris Christie on Tax Reform.
  • Click here for more quotes by Terry McAuliffe on Tax Reform.
Candidates and political leaders on Tax Reform:

Retired Senate as of Jan. 2015:
GA:Chambliss(R)
IA:Harkin(D)
MI:Levin(D)
MT:Baucus(D)
NE:Johanns(R)
OK:Coburn(R)
SD:Johnson(D)
WV:Rockefeller(D)

Resigned from 113th House:
AL-1:Jo Bonner(R)
FL-19:Trey Radel(R)
LA-5:Rod Alexander(R)
MA-5:Ed Markey(D)
MO-9:Jo Ann Emerson(R)
NC-12:Melvin Watt(D)
SC-1:Tim Scott(R) 		Retired House to run for Senate or Governor:
AR-4:Tom Cotton(R)
GA-1:Jack Kingston(R)
GA-10:Paul Broun(R)
GA-11:Phil Gingrey(R)
HI-1:Colleen Hanabusa(D)
IA-1:Bruce Braley(D)
LA-6:Bill Cassidy(R)
ME-2:Mike Michaud(D)
MI-14:Gary Peters(D)
MT-0:Steve Daines(R)
OK-5:James Lankford(R)
PA-13:Allyson Schwartz(D)
TX-36:Steve Stockman(R)
WV-2:Shelley Capito(R) 		Retired House as of Jan. 2015:
AL-6:Spencer Bachus(R)
AR-2:Tim Griffin(R)
CA-11:George Miller(D)
CA-25:Howard McKeon(R)
CA-33:Henry Waxman(D)
CA-45:John Campbell(R)
IA-3:Tom Latham(R)
MN-6:Michele Bachmann(R)
NC-6:Howard Coble(R)
NC-7:Mike McIntyre(D)
NJ-3:Jon Runyan(R)
NY-4:Carolyn McCarthy(D)
NY-21:Bill Owens(D)
PA-6:Jim Gerlach(R)
UT-4:Jim Matheson(D)
VA-8:Jim Moran(D)
VA-10:Frank Wolf(R)
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Page last updated: Dec 09, 2018