Earth to Kirk – Don’t Raise Our Taxes Texas Can Afford to Make it Permanent

Texas CSE Director Peggy Venable expressed shock at Ron Kirk’s recent comments opposing tax relief for Americans, because they show a lack of understanding about how the U.S. economy functions and an unwillingness to limit government spending.

“The first vote he wants to cast as a United States Senator is to raise taxes,” said Peggy Venable. “We can afford to make the first tax cut in a generation permanent. All we need are senators willing to restrain spending.”

Speaking to reporters in Washington this week, Kirk labeled as “irresponsible” President Bush’s plan to make his 2001 tax cuts permanent. Most of the reductions expire after 10 years, including a moratorium on the death tax, which will impact numerous small businesses and family farms.

While stating that he probably would have reluctantly voted for the 2001 tax changes, he also made it clear he is eager to cancel or reduce those reductions. Asked if the 2001 reductions were too large, Kirk agreed: “In retrospect, you could say they were,” he declared.

Kirk has made several other policy statements that indicate a bias for higher taxes. In a March Democratic Senate primary debate, he announced his opposition to President Bush’s economic stimulus package, saying, “I don’t agree that we need another round of tax breaks.” As a member of a Congressional advisory commission on Internet taxation in the late 1990s, Kirk became the commission’s most prominent pro-tax voice, vociferously advocating a new national sales tax on Internet purchases.