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Rick Perry presidential campaign, 2016/Taxes
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 Rick Perry |
Governor of Texas (2000-2015) Lieutenant Governor of Texas (1998-2000) Texas Agriculture Commissioner (1990 - 1998) Texas House of Representatives (1984-1990) |
 Republican candidate: |
2028 • 2024 • 2020 • 2016 |
This page was current as of the 2016 election.
- According to his campaign website, Rick Perry "cut taxes over 75 times for more than $17 billion in savings to Texas taxpayers" while Governor of Texas.[2]
- During the 2012 presidential campaign, Perry put forward a flat tax proposal that would have allowed taxpayers to choose either their tax rate under existing law or a flat 20 percent tax rate. Writing about his plan in an op-ed for The Wall Street Journal in October 2011, Perry stated, "This simple 20% flat tax will allow Americans to file their taxes on a postcard, saving up to $483 billion in compliance costs. By eliminating the dozens of carve-outs that make the current code so incomprehensible, we will renew incentives for entrepreneurial risk-taking and investment that creates jobs, inspires Americans to work hard and forms the foundation of a strong economy. My plan also abolishes the death tax once and for all, providing needed certainty to American family farms and small businesses."[3][4]
- According to a 2011 article in the Austin American-Statesman, while Perry was governor, the average Texan's tax rate increased from 7.1 percent to 7.9 percent but remained one of the lowest tax burdens in the country. A 2015 study by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy found, however, that Texas has one of the most regressive tax structures, taxing the poorest 20 percent at a significantly higher rate of 12.5 percent.[5][6]
- In January 2010, Perry issued a press release where he recommended the Texas Constitution be amended to require a two-thirds majority in the state legislature to raise taxes.[7]
- In 2009, Perry signed the Americans for Tax Reform “Taxpayer Protection Pledge," promising "to oppose and veto any and all efforts to increase taxes."[8]
- In 2006, Perry instituted a gross receipts tax on businesses as part of a school finance reform initiative. The added business tax was supposed to make up for cuts in property taxes, but according to the Texas Observer, the law "cost the state $5 billion a year for five years running." [8][9]
- In 1987, as a Democrat in the Texas House of Representatives, Perry voted in favor of a $5.7 billion tax increase called "the largest tax increase ever passed in modern Texas."[10]
Recent news
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See also
Footnotes
- ↑ CNN, "Rick Perry launches comeback White House bid," June 4, 2015
- ↑ Perry for President, "Record: Budget and Spending," accessed June 5, 2015
- ↑ USA Today, “Rick Perry proposes flat tax, balanced budget," October 25, 2011
- ↑ The Wall street Journal, "My Tax and Spending Reform Plan," October 25, 2011
- ↑ Austin American-Statesman, "Should Perry get credit for Texas economy," July 17, 2011
- ↑ Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, "2015 Who Pays: A Distributional Analysis of the Tax Systems in All Fifty States," accessed June 5, 2015
- ↑ Office of the Governor Rick Perry, "Gov. Perry Calls for Constitutional Amendments to Protect Texas Taxpayers," accessed June 5, 2015
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Forbes, "Rick Perry's Changing Take On Raising Taxes," August 16, 2011
- ↑ Texas Observer, “Can Rick Perry Govern?" August 15, 2011
- ↑ The Texas Tribune, "Rick Perry: The Democrat Years," July 14, 2011
