Mitt Romney: Gov. Huckabee Supported Higher Taxes & More Government Spending

Jan 13, 2008 -- "Taxes are a necessary part of funding a reasonable and responsible government. Taxing too little can result in financial imbalances and deficits as well as underfunding truly vital roles the government should fill..." – Gov. Mike Huckabee (Gov. Mike Huckabee, From Hope To Higher Ground, 2007, p. 101)

Gov. Huckabee's Record Of Higher Taxes And More Big-Government Spending:

This Morning, Gov. Huckabee Admitted That He Raised Taxes To Pay For Increased Government Spending. CBS' BOB SCHIEFFER: "But you did raise taxes, didn't you, Governor? I mean in addition to cutting taxes you did raise some taxes?" HUCKABEE: "Bob when you're under a Supreme Court order, you do what you need to do to improve your schools. I worked with our legislature. And we got major really improvements done in our school system that without our kids would still be languishing in last place. I don't apologize for raising the expectations and the hopes and the opportunities for the kids of my state. I don't apologize for building roads either. I'd apologize for leaving my roads in a mess is what I'd be apologizing for if I hadn't done it." (CBS' "Face The Nation," 1/13/08; www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPh67alcYSI)

Huckabee Raised Taxes $883.1 Million, Cut $378 Million In Taxes, For A Net Tax Increase Of $505.1 Million. "But a review of tax legislation passed while he was governor shows a net tax increase of $505 million, a figure adjusted for inflation and economic growth, according to the state Department of Finance and Administration. ... The 90 cuts reduced tax collections by $378 million, according to the Department of Finance and Administration. Meanwhile, the department counts 21 tax increases that raised collections by $883.1 million." (Daniel Nasaw, "Gaps Led To Taxing In Huckabee Years," Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, 10/9/07)

FactCheck.org: "Overall, His Tax Increases Outweighed His Tax Cuts By More Than $500 Million." "As we've said several times now, Huckabee's 94 tax cuts include things like a reduction for manufacturing machinery that reduced state coffers by $500 per year. And, overall, his tax increases outweighed his tax cuts by more than $500 million. As for signing the first broad-based tax cut in 160 years, we've noted before that then-governor Bill Clinton signed an income-tax reduction in 1991 that was quite similar to the one that Huckabee signed a few years later. 'Broad-based' is a matter of interpretation, but Huckabee's claim still sounds like unwarranted hyperbole to us." (FactCheck.org, www.factcheck.org, Posted 1/7/08)

The Average Arkansan Saw Their Taxes Increase Almost $1,000 Under Gov. Huckabee. "The average Arkansan's tax burden grew from $1,969 in the fiscal year that ended June 30, 1997, to $2,902 in the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2005, including local taxes." (Daniel Nasaw, "Gaps Led To Taxing In Huckabee Years," Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, 10/9/07)

Source: Mitt Romney campaign