His 2009 Book Confirms His Belief That Big Business Should Pay Nothing
“Toomey clearly supports the elimination of corporate taxes, with no ambiguity.” –Pittsburgh Post-Gazette [8/31/10]
MEDIA, Pa. — Congressman Toomey did his best to spin his own record in an attempt to disguise the fact that he wants to give enormous tax breaks to Wall Street corporations at the expense of the middle class. However, the facts are clear — he believes corporations should pay nothing. The Toomey campaign’s latest efforts to reinvent his policies came just days after Congressman Toomey tried to deny his efforts to privatize Social Security, but was caught by the facts.
While even his campaign admitted that Toomey’s own policies were “impractical for a host of reasons,” and said,”this is probably the only clip you’ll find of Pat saying this, where he was trying to drive home an intellectual point,” his 2009 book clearly states his support for zero corporate taxes:
“For little more in lost revenue than was spent in that single bill, Congress could have eliminated all corporate income taxes for nearly three full years. America would have become by far the most tax-advantaged country in the world. We would have attracted a flood of new capital investment, new start-up ventures, and expansions of existing businesses.” [The Road to Prosperity, p. 206]
“Congressman Toomey makes it very clear who he will fight for in this economy. He can try to spin this any way he wants but it’s not hard to figure out who gets stuck with the bill when Wall Street corporations don’t have to pay any taxes. It’s time for a leader like Joe Sestak who will put middle class Pennsylvanians first for a change,” said Sestak spokesperson Jonathon Dworkin.
Taxes: The Toomey Record & Priorities
In his appearance on CNBC, Congressman Toomey made it clear that he wants to “eliminate corporate taxes altogether.” He leaves out that he would increase revenue by raising taxes on working families. Congressman Toomey has supported two tax proposals with one thing in common; they cut taxes for oil companies and Wall Street by raising them for the rest of us.
Under a Flat Tax like Toomey proposes, CEOs at big banks would pay nothing on their Wall Street earnings, while 95% of workers would see a tax hike of almost $3,000. [Citizens for Tax Justice, 2/19/10]Under Toomey’s national sales tax proposal, taxes on BP and Bank of America would be completely eliminated, but middle class Americans would have to pay a tax of at least 30% on everything they do, including buying groceries and clothing, visiting the doctor and getting medicine. [Annenberg Public Policy Center, 5/31/07]
Congressman Toomey voted for every Bush tax proposal in Congress to benefit the wealthiest few
Toomey voted for President Bush’s tax cuts, more than 50 percent of which went to the richest 1 percent of Americans. [HR 1836, Vote 149, 5/26/01; HR 2, Vote 225, 5/23/03]An exhaustive study based on analysis of tax records and census data by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) showed that tax rates for middle-income earners edged up in 2004, while rates for people at the very top continued to decline. The study reinforced the fact that the Bush tax cuts offered the biggest benefits by far to people at the very top. [New York Times, 1/8/07]
These tax breaks for the wealthy are the number one contributor to the deficits we face today
The Congressman Toomey-George W. Bush tax cuts remain the single largest cause of America’s structural deficit today. The Bush administration inherited budget surpluses from the Clinton administration. What turned these into deficits, even before the recession? According to the CBO, the Bush tax cuts are by far the largest cause and have added up to $2.3 trillion over 10 years. [Washington Post, 8/02/10]
Congressman Toomey is fighting to protect another $700 billion in tax cuts for the ultra rich
Today Congressman Toomey is fighting to make permanent President Bush’s 2003 high-income tax cuts – which will add another $700 billion to the deficit – despite the fact that the CBO recently concluded that doing so would be the least effective of 11 options to stimulate growth and job creation. [AP, 8/2/2010; CBO, 7/26/10]
Joe Sestak was elected to Congress in 2006 after a distinguished 31-year career in the United States Navy, and he is honored to represent the Southeastern Pennsylvania district where he was born and raised. He is a Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate seat from Pennsylvania. During his Navy career, Joe attained the rank of 3-star Admiral, served in the White House as Director for Defense Policy on President Clinton’s National Security Council, served in the Pentagon as Deputy Chief of Naval Operations, and led a series of operational commands at sea, culminating in command of the USS George Washington Aircraft Carrier Battle Group (30 ships, 100 aircraft, and 15,000 sailors/marines/aviators/SEALs) during combat operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. In our nation’s time of crisis in the immediate aftermath of 9/11, the Navy turned to Joe Sestak to serve as the first Director of “Deep Blue,” the Navy anti-terrorism unit formed in response to the attacks. Joe is the highest-ranking former military officer ever elected to either branch of Congress. He graduated second in his class from the U.S. Naval Academy and holds a Master’s in Public Administration and a PhD in Political Economy and Government from Harvard University. Joe lives in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, with his wife, Susan, and daughter, Alex, and proudly represents the 7th District, where his mother and many of his seven siblings still reside.