Democrat incumbent Hugh Holliman has hit Rayne Brown, his Republican opponent for North Carolina House District 81, with multiple attack ads in an attempt to mislead voters about the actual meaning of the Taxpayer Protection Pledge, which Brown has signed. In at least two commercials and one mailer, Holliman argues that Brown’s Pledge means she supports tax breaks for companies that outsource jobs. In reality, the goal of the Pledge is to protect North Carolina taxpayers and businesses from tax increases, and does not prevent revenue-neutral elimination of tax credits.

The “No New Taxes” Pledge simply commits a signer to “oppose and vote against any and all efforts to raise taxes.” By making this promise, Rayne Brown has taken tax hikes off the table for all taxpayers in North Carolina – something Hugh Holliman has not done.

If Holliman were smart he would actually avoid talking about taxes. Just last year Holliman voted for more than $1 billion in higher taxes on all North Carolinians in the middle of a recession. It was bad enough when Holliman was a tax hiker. Now he's proven himself to be nothing more than a lying tax hiker.

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