Feb 17, 2012
Tisei in Favor of Middle Class Tax Hike
In just under two weeks, taxes will go up for middle income Massachusetts families if Republican congressional candidate Richard Tisei (MA-06) gets his wish and the payroll tax is allowed to be raised on millions of Americans. Richard Tisei has called the payroll tax cut “gimmicky” and thinks that it “hasn’t worked.” Tisei already promised in December that if he had been in Congress he would have voted for a $1,000 payroll tax hike on 160 million middle income Americans in order to protect tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires and subsidies for Big Oil. If Tisei has his way, the payroll tax cut will expire at the end of February.
“Richard Tisei has made it clear that he would rather see taxes go up on middle class Massachusetts families than make billionaires and Big Oil pay their fair share,” said Josh Schwerin, Northeast Press Secretary at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. “Richard Tisei might think that a $1,000 tax hike on middle class families is ‘gimmicky,’ but that’s a lot of money to most Massachusetts voters.”
Background
Tisei Claimed Payroll Tax Cut Was “Gimmicky” and “Hasn’t Worked.” In a December 2011 interview on WCVB, the following exchange occurred:
Host: “Would you vote to extend it [the payroll tax cut]? Would you let it expire?”
Tisei: “I don’t think you should borrow money to do it, number one. And I think it is sort of gimmicky. The reason that that was put into place was to help businesses create jobs and you know as a small business owner, I can tell you that businesses need to know what’s going on two or three years down the road. They need some stability and predictability. And, you know, it hasn’t worked basically.”
[WCVB-TV, 12/1/11]
Tisei Would Not Have Voted for the Payroll Tax Cut. In a November 2011 interview with NECN, the following exchange occurred:
Host: “The President’s jobs bill is going absolutely nowhere, one piece of it would extend and expand payroll tax cuts that exist now and then expand them to not only employers but make them greater for virtually every worker in America. Would you support that as a member of Congress?”
Tisei: “The way I kind of look at it is that that’s a short-term measure.”
Host: “But would you support it as a short-term measure?”
Tisei: “I don’t think so.”
[NECN, 11/16/11]
House Republican Plan Would Raise the Cost of Medicare Premiums. In December 2011, the Associated Press reported, “Raising taxes on millionaires may be a non-starter for Republicans, but they seem to have no problem hiking Medicare premiums for retirees making a lot less.” The House Republican bill would require many seniors to pay “as much as several hundred dollars a month additional for Medicare outpatient and prescription coverage.” [Associated Press, 12/13/11]
Want the latest updates? Follow the DCCC on Facebook and Twitter:
