State of Montana secondary Archives: on Tax Reform

Conrad Burns: Families face 58% tax increase in--so make cuts permanent

TESTER: If we’re going to talk about tax cuts, let’s focus them on the middle class, when the bulk of that tax cut he talks about is focused on the very richest rich. The middle class needs to have some support in the tax code. But why do we have to give tax breaks to Paris Hilton in the process? That tax program that he talks about is dependent on deficit spending to make it work. Deficit spending is putting a tax on our children of $28,000. It’s time we had some common sense.

BURNS: He knows a lot about raising taxes. He’s never met a tax bill he didn’t vote for. His record is very clear on that, and my record is very clear also. I don’t vote for those tax increases.

Jon Tester: Focus tax cuts on the middle class, not the rich

TESTER: If we're going to talk about tax cuts, let's focus them on the middle class, when the bulk of that tax cut he talks about is focused on the very richest rich. The middle class needs to have some support in the tax code, so we best not be messing around and let's do it. Instead of taking away things like the college tax credit, for working families trying to send their kids to college, which Burns did, and increase the taxes on them. Instead of talking about the marriage penalty, let's make it so it isn't a penalty. But why do we have to give tax breaks to Paris Hilton in the process? That tax program that he talks about is dependent on deficit spending to make it work. Deficit spending is putting a tax on our children of $28,000 -- every child is born with a $28,000 tax, in the form a national debt. It's time we had some common sense.

Jon Tester: Lowering state taxes shifts burden to local property tax

TESTER: Every tax cut measure had the unforeseen consequence of raising the property tax. We can be the good guys at the state level, but that'd just make the school boards and county governments increase the mill levies [of the local property tax], and that's not the way I do business. I'm accountable for what I do and I wasn't going to support that tax pullback. Some of that money went to increasing teacher's salaries, without forcing school boards to increase their mill levies, and in some cases could actually have them reduce their local property taxes. Last session, we eliminated taxes on 13,000 small businesses and we didn't increase taxes. That's the record with the Democratic governor and Democratic senate. We did it within a balanced budget, and we did it on time.

BURNS: He eliminated the business taxes on 13,000 businesses--but raised them on 16,000 businesses.

Mark Perea: Opposes higher taxes on the wealthy

A: Oppose