Feb 19, 2012
FACT CHECK: Cantor Falsely Claims Republicans Supported Paying for Payroll Tax Cut
On Fox News Sunday, Republican Leader Eric Cantor falsely claims Republicans supported the payroll tax cut but wanted to pay for it. Cantor said, “we would have liked to have seen it [the payroll tax break extension] done in a way that we could actually reduce spending while at the same time affording this tax relief.”
In reality, House Republican leaders like Cantor have opposed the payroll tax cut since it was proposed. Additionally, Cantor and House Republicans were unwilling to pay for the payroll tax cut by ending tax breaks for Billionaires and Big Oil.
Eric Cantor and House Republicans have the wrong priorities. While Cantor claims he wanted the middle income payroll tax to be paid for, he has continually voted for Bush tax cuts for the top 1 percent that were unpaid for. The Washington Post found that those tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires were one of the “biggest culprit[s], by far” in ballooning America’s debt.
FACT CHECK
Many Republicans Doubt the Economic Benefits of Extending the Payroll Tax Break. “Many Republicans doubt the economic benefit of a payroll tax cut, a foundation of Obama's plan to create jobs. But as December's battle unfolded, GOP leaders worried that they would suffer political damage from opposing the deeply popular tax cut, worth $1,000 annually to a family earning $50,000 a year.” [Associated Press, 1/18/12; DCCC, 12/6/12]
Republican Leader Eric Cantor “Has Never Believed” Extending the Payroll Tax Break Was the Best Way to Grow the Economy. According to his spokesman, Republican Leader Cantor “has never believed that this type of temporary tax relief is the best way to grow the economy.” [AP, 8/22/11]
Republican Ways and Means Chairman Dave Camp Doesn’t Support Extending the Payroll Tax Cut. “I’m not in favor of that. I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Camp said of extending the payroll tax cut. “We need a more overarching approach to our tax policy,” Camp said, calling the payroll tax holiday “piecemeal.” [The Hill, 8/14/11]
Republican Budget Chairman Paul Ryan Called Extending the Payroll Tax Cut “Sugar-High” Economics. House Budget Committee Chairman Ryan “rejected the idea of making further short-term changes to the payroll tax” and called payroll tax cuts “sugar-high economics.” [The Hill, 6/16/11]
NRCC Chairman Pete Sessions Called Extending the Payroll Tax Cut a “Horrible Idea.” According to the LA Times, “Rep. Pete Sessions of Texas, who heads the House Republican campaign committee, called Obama’s plan ‘a horrible idea.’ He said GOP candidates would have no difficulty explaining to voters why they want to let the tax break expire.” [LA Times, 9/9/11]
House Republicans are Refusing to Budge on Payroll Tax Positions. According to Bloomberg News, “Congressional negotiators are refusing to budge from positions that could stall talks to extend a payroll tax cut through 2012. A House-Senate conference committee aimed at breaking the deadlock may meet as soon as Jan. 24. Democrats want to impose a tax on income exceeding $1 million and are warning Republicans against seeking to attach policy proposals that aren’t linked to the tax cut, such as loosening rules on industrial emissions. Republicans oppose the tax on high earners to pay for the extension, while insisting that the full $100 billion package must be offset.” [Bloomberg, 1/19/12]
The Republicans Face Defining Choice over Payroll Tax Cut. “Republicans, once again, face a defining choice less than a month before the payroll tax holiday expires. Should they extend the tax break for workers and blunt President Barack Obama’s campaign plan to tag them as a band of out-of-touch, intransigent do-nothings? Or should they stiffen their collective spine and end a tax cut that many of them consider fundamentally bad policy? It’s a dilemma that’s splitting the party and threatening to give leadership another bout of migraines.” [Politico, 2/5/12]
More Debt from Bush-era tax policies. “All told, Obama-era choices account for about $1.7 trillion in new debt, according to a separate Washington Post analysis of CBO data over the past decade. Bush-era policies, meanwhile, account for more than $7 trillion and are a major contributor to the trillion-dollar annual budget deficits that are dominating the political debate. […] The biggest culprit, by far, has been an erosion of tax revenue triggered largely by two recessions and multiple rounds of tax cuts. Together, the economy and the tax bills enacted under former president George W. Bush, and to a lesser extent by President Obama, wiped out $6.3 trillion in anticipated revenue.” [Washington Post, 4/30/11]
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