Americans for Tax Reform calls on U.S. Senate candidate Eric Hovde to tell Wisconsin voters what taxes he intends on raising. In his bid for the Republican U.S. Senate nomination, Hovde is the only Republican candidate to refuse to sign the Taxpayer Protection Pledge, leaving the door open to higher taxes on Wisconsin families and small businesses. 

In a 2009 interview with CNBC, Eric Hovde admitted that he had “no problem” getting charged higher taxes. Such rhetoric today is mainstream among D.C. Democrats but in 2009, Eric Hovde was further left than the narrative of even Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid.  They did not begin their tax hike crusade until after they lost control of the House in 2010. 

It seems puzzling that in the interview where Hovde asserted that America was steadily descending into a Depression, he claimed that higher taxes were completely acceptable. Candidate Hovde has attempted to walk back his 2009 admission, but what remains clear is that he has refused to make the written commitment to Wisconsinites to oppose higher taxes if elected to the U.S. Senate.

“When you go on a nationally syndicated business network television show and tell the world that you are open to tax hikes, you better anticipate those statements following you,” said Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform. “By refusing to sign the Taxpayer Protection Pledge, Eric Hovde is only confirming the accusations being made against him this election.”

“Without the written commitment to oppose higher taxes, it only seems logical that Hovde’s plans are to join with Democrats to implement dangerous tax reform that includes higher taxes on everyone. Wisconsin voters should be aware both of Hovde’s rhetoric on higher taxes and his refusal to commit to Wisconsin taxpayers that he won’t raise their taxes. This lack of commitment should scare both the business community and Average Joe taxpayer.”

[PDF of Press Release]

Posted by Paul Blair on Monday, August 6, 2012 4:18 PM EDT

To follow Paul Blair's RSS feed click here. To follow them on Twitter, their handle is @gopaulblair