Haley Barbour on Tax Reform Former Republican MS Governor (until 2012)

Cut budget by $700M, instead of raising taxes

Not only do I urge you not to consider tax increases this year I implore you to keep spending at a level this year that protects more of our reserves for next year. That is the way to stop any tax increases in 2012. Remember, what we have accomplished in controlling spending over seven years can be lost in only one year. Our first year you passed and I signed the most comprehensive tort reform law in the country, and it worked.

Commission to study state tax code & then cut taxes

I am against raising anybody’s taxes

Capital gains tax is a double tax

• All taxpayers should be fully informed on exactly what is being taxed, how they are being taxed, and what their true tax liability is.
• Taxes must be made as visible to the taxpayer as possible ("hidden" taxes mask the true cost of government).
• The tax system must explicitly treat all individuals equally under the law. (Deliberate differentiations in tax liabilities based on the sources or uses of income should be avoided, except in the case of capital gains. Capital gains is covered under the principle of not taxing income more than once. The capital gains tax is a double tax on the same stream of income.)
• Multiple layers of taxation must be avoided and income taxed once and only once.
• The tax system must be simple (complexity makes the system expensive, punitive, and inefficient).

Supports the Taxpayer Protection Pledge.

[The ATR, Americans for Tax Reform, run by conservative lobbyist Grover Norquist, ask legislators to sign the Taxpayer Protection Pledge in each election cycle. Their self-description:]

In the Taxpayer Protection Pledge, candidates and incumbents solemnly bind themselves to oppose any and all tax increases. Since its rollout in 1986, the pledge has become de rigeur for Republicans seeking office, and is a necessity for Democrats running in Republican districts. Today the Taxpayer Protection Pledge is offered to every candidate for state office and to all incumbents. More than 1,100 state officeholders, from state representative to governor, have signed the Pledge.

The Taxpayer Protection Pledge: "I pledge to the taxpayers of my district and to the American people that I will: ONE, oppose any and all efforts to increase the marginal income tax rate for individuals and business; and TWO, oppose any net reduction or elimination of deductions and credits, unless matched dollar for dollar by further reducing tax rates."

Opponents' Opinion (from wikipedia.com):In Nov. 2011, Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) claimed that Congressional Republicans "are being led like puppets by Grover Norquist. They're giving speeches that we should compromise on our deficit, but never do they compromise on Grover Norquist. He is their leader." Since Norquist's pledge binds signatories to opposing deficit reduction agreements that include any element of increased tax revenue, some Republican deficit hawks now retired from office have stated that Norquist has become an obstacle to deficit reduction. Former Republican Senator Alan Simpson, co-chairman of the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, has been particularly critical, describing Norquist's position as "no taxes, under any situation, even if your country goes to hell."