Oct 11, 2011
Rob Cornilles Stands with Millionaires over Middle Class on Tax Cuts
As Tea Party Republican congressional candidate Rob Cornilles discusses jobs on the campaign trail today, he should explain to Oregon voters why he supports tax breaks for millionaires, but not the middle class. Cornilles has criticized the extension of payroll tax cuts that would benefit middle income workers, yet he supports the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans. Economists, business groups and the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office have said the payroll tax extension that is part of President Obama’s jobs plan would create jobs.
“Tea Party Republican Rob Cornilles is all talk when it comes to job creation and tax cuts, but he really stands with House Republican leaders in choosing millionaires over the middle class,” said Amber Moon, Western Regional Press Secretary at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. “Tea Party Republican Rob Cornilles is asking the middle class to sacrifice, while protecting millionaires despite the fact that the payroll tax would do more to create jobs for Oregonians who have been hit hard by this tough economy.”
Background:
Cornilles Criticized President Obama’s Proposal to Extend Payroll Tax Break. In 2011, Cornilles criticized President Obama’s plan to extend lowered payroll tax rates for employers and employees. Cornilles said, “Another thing that the President mentioned which I think is something that should be discussed and debated in congress, he talked about putting a further holiday on the payroll tax. Now that’s good because it puts more money in middle class pockets, but the problem with this is that just doing a temporary tax cut extension for another twelve months is just going to create a bigger problem at the end of 2012.” [Ann Samuelson’s radio show, Part 2, 3:38, Posted 9/23/11]
Supported Extending Bush Tax Cuts. In a 2010 debate, Cornilles supported extending the Bush administration’s tax cuts for the wealthy. Cornilles said not renewing the tax cuts would be “demonizing certain classes of our society” and would discourage growth. [Oregonian, 9/11/10]
Obama Jobs Plan Proposed Cutting Payroll Taxes for Small Businesses to Avoid Another Recession. Bloomberg reported “President Barack Obama’s $447 billion jobs plan would help avoid a return to recession by maintaining growth and pushing down the unemployment rate next year, according to economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. The legislation, submitted to Congress this month, would increase gross domestic product by 0.6 percent next year and add or keep 275,000 workers on payrolls, the median estimates in the survey of 34 economists showed. The program would also lower the jobless rate by 0.2 percentage point in 2012, economists said […] Obama’s plan, announced on Sept. 8, calls for cutting the payroll taxes paid by workers and small businesses. [Bloomberg, 9/28/11]
Reducing Payroll Taxes on Firms Creates More Jobs Than Tax Cuts for the Wealthy. In January 2010, the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office wrote that reducing payroll taxes for firms was among the policies that “would have the largest effect on output and employment per dollar on budgetary cost in 2010 and 2011. By contrast, policies that would temporarily increase the after-tax income of people with relatively high income, such as an across-the-board reduction in income taxes […] would have a smaller effects because such tax cuts would probably not affect the recipients’ spending significantly.” [Congressional Budget Office, 1/10]
National Federation of Independent Business: Payroll Tax Holiday Can Create Jobs. The National Federation of Independent Business has said that a payroll tax holiday for small businesses would help “struggling businesses reduce costs” and “can reduce unemployment and keep people working during a period of slowed economic growth.” [National Federation of Independent Businesses, accessed 9/16/11]
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