Stubborn Facts on Romney and Taxes

From 2008 NH Republican Debate, Mitt Romney answers question comparing his record to that of Mike Huckabee.

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News & Politics

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• Romney
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• Huckabee
• tax
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• record

[MrConservativeTalk]

Romney balanced the states budget, set up a rainy-day fund, held spending down to a 2.8% increase, and lowered taxes on income and capital gains. The property tax hikes were caused my local governments that didn't want to be fiscally conservative. Romney has a strong record on tax cuts and spending restraint.

[DavidDLPE]

@MrConservativeTalk - You sound like a good spin man for Romney, but as he himself stated, "Facts are stubborn things..." MA is a mess, in large part due to Romney's one term as governor. After Romney, MA turned heavily democrat. He lost the legislature and the governor's office. Voter registration for dems spiked while drastically falling for Repubs. If I had the time, I would be happy to go deeper into the "facts" you cite, such as the 2.8% increase in spending (using what accounting method?)

[DavidDLPE]

The point is that he is exactly the kind of Republican that ushered the current administration into office. Romney kind of sounds like Reagan, and he knows how to gauge the conservative winds in his endorsements (Rubio). But his record is anything but Conservative. I just recently heard him say in an interview where he was defending the govt run healthcare he initiated in MA that half of it was funded by federal funds, as if this is a good thing? What if every state did that? Think about it.

[RPeterson521]

Fees are conservative. They prevent the taxpayer from having to subsidize a good or service provided to individuals, such as drivers licenses.

If you lose your license, you should pay for a new one out of your own pocket.

In MA, fees were not high enough to cover the costs. By updating fees, Romney ended the taxpayer subsidizing of those services.

If you don't think that money should come from fees, where do you think that money should come from?

[DavidDLPE]

If you'll go to the afore-mentioned website, there is a complete excel spreadsheet listing all of his fee increases. Boat registration fees quadrupled - an unfair tax on the rich. Numerous corporate taxes imposed, claiming to "close loopholes, raising hundreds of millions in revenue. $175 M in Registry of Deeds fee increases - related to buying and selling homes. Again, some of them - many of them even, are justified. There are many others that are out of balance, and just plain silly.

[DavidDLPE]

@RPeterson521 - Finally, let me just say this - I had not watched this video in a while. I just did again, and I must say it is well-sourced. None of these facts and figures are mine. You can look up the claims for yourself. If your basic argument is that Fees are ok but taxes aren't, I am afraid that we will have to agree to disagree. I contend that whether the gov't collects our money as a tax or a fee, there are worthy and unworthy uses for each. At the end of the day, it's all taxes.

[smerny85]

Romney tries winning the peoples votes by playing word games, by dishing out millions and millions of dollars, by dishonestly attacking other candidates.... His record is far from great... If he wins the nomination, democrats will win the election.

[vonflowers]

Great video! Keep it up.

[SheepTimeProductions]

He's comming back -_- brace yourself

[DavidDLPE]

For instance, he initiated a $10 Fee to issue a Certificate of Blindness... Because you're not blind unless the state says you are, right? That had a minor effect on the budget - let's look at the bigger ones... He initiated/created a fee on residents who wanted to appeal their SDIP (Safe Driver Insurance Plan) rating. Follow the money here, this brought in over $2.2 M into the state annual budget. Hard to argue he was "keeping up with costs" on Fees that never existed before him...

[DavidDLPE]

And for the record, any monies collected by the government is a tax, regardless of the label, or whether its purpose is worthy...

Where you lose me in your remarks is that Fees in MA were not high enough to cover the costs. Two sides to that argument, my friend...

According to RomneyFacts d com, $432 M of Romney's tax increases were in Fee increases. In addition, these hikes were Romney initiatives, not proposed by the legislature. And the "catch-up" argument does not hold water...

[DavidDLPE]

I appreciate your comment, and you do pose some good points. First, let me say that this video was produced in response to Romney's own attack strategies he employed against Mike Huckabee. Romney set the rules, and I made this video to show him what happens when his rules are applied to himself. Romney was trying to disparage Huckabee for $500 M in tax increases over 10 years as Governor of a democrat state, while Romney helped usher in over $750 M in tax increases in less than half the time...