4/10/00

WASHINGTON- Last week, Gov. Paul Patton (D-KY) spoke at a press conference to urge Congress to reject the taxpayer-friendly report to be submitted by the federal Advisory Commission on Electronic Commerce (ACEC).

Patton flew to Washington at taxpayer expense to voice support for raising state and local taxes.

Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform and a member of the ACEC issued the following statement on Gov. Patton's slap in the face to taxpayers:

"Every taxpayer in the state of Kentucky should be outraged that Gov. Patton flew to Washington to lobby for more taxes and bigger government.   Because he came to DC at the expense of his state's taxpayers to lobby for more taxes, we have awarded him the enemy of the taxpayer award for the month of April.

"Today, state and local governments are running sizeable budget surpluses.  I don't understand how Patton can call for taxing the Internet to increase state and local revenues at a time when state and local governments have more money than they have ever had.  Moreover, state and local revenue has grown from 6.9 percent of GDP to 9 percent of GDP from 1968 to 1998.

"Why do states need more money if they are running surpluses and their revenue has increased significantly as a percentage of GDP since the late 1960s.

"The final report of the ACEC was a strong statement to pro-tax increase forces that their plans to raise taxes will be opposed.  Gov. Patton and other members of the pro-tax coalition are attempting to undermine the hard work of the commission by lobbying Congress to reject the final plan adopted by the ACEC.