Left-Wing Billionaire Michael Bloomberg: Raising Taxes on Poor People Is a “good thing.”
Bloomberg: “The question is do you want to pander to those people?”
Bloomberg: “Taxes or life? Which do you want to do? Take your poison.”
Nanny-state-imposing left-wing billionaire Michael Bloomberg is now on video admitting how much he likes to raise taxes on poor people, calling such tax hikes a “good thing.” For years, Bloomberg has personally funded and promoted all sorts of regressive taxes and regulations in an attempt to push people around. He uses the coercive power of the government to force people to live their lives as he sees fit.
So here is Bloomberg on stage with another global mandarin, Christine Lagarde of the International Monetary Fund. He refers to low income individuals as “those people” and then takes a shot at coal miners and the U.S. military. He clearly reveals his arrogant, bullying worldview. The entire thing is bad, but we've bolded a few of the most obnoxious sentences [click here for video]:
Michael Bloomberg: “Some people say, well, taxes are regressive. But in this case, yes they are. That's the good thing about them because the problem is in people that don't have a lot of money. And so, higher taxes should have a bigger impact on their behavior and how they deal with themselves. So, I listen to people saying 'oh we don't want to tax the poor.’ Well, we want the poor to live longer so that they can get an education and enjoy life. And that's why you do want to do exactly what a lot of people say you don't want to do.
The question is do you want to pander to those people? Or do you want to get them to live longer? There's just no question. If you raise taxes on full sugary drinks, for example, they will drink less and there's just no question that full sugar drinks are one of the major contributors to obesity and obesity is one of the major contributors to heart disease and cancer and a variety of other things.
So, it's like saying, ‘I don't want to stop using coal because coal miners will go out of work, will lose their jobs.’ We have a lot of soldiers in the United States in the US Army, but we don't want to go start a war just to give them something to do and that's exactly what you're saying when you say 'well, let's keep coal killing people because we don't want coal miners to lose their jobs.' The truth of the matter is that there aren't very many coal miners left anyways and we can find other things for them to do. But the comparison is: a life or a job. Or, taxes or life? Which do you want to do? Take your poison.”
Christine Lagarde: “So its regressive, it is good. There are lots of tax experts in the room. And fiscal experts, and I’m very pleased that they hear you say that. And they all say that two things in life which are absolutely certain. One is death, the other one is tax. So you use one to defer the other one.”
Bloomberg: “That’s correct. That is exactly right. Well said.” [Applause]
To get the full effect of his arrogance, watch the video. For years, billionaire Bloomberg has sat atop an Ivory Tower with a massive checkbook, judging the appropriateness of raising prices on low-income consumers. He has no concept for the difficult choices consumers make on a daily basis and despite claiming he cares about things like public health, he’s actually championed taxes and policies that harm it.
For one, he’s committed $20 million in the last year alone to demonizing people who decide to quit smoking cigarettes. Many are able to quit thanks to the help of tobacco-free alternatives like vapor products. But Bloomberg is a major funder of organizations like the Campaign for Tobacco-free Kids, an organization that pushes prohibition of vapor products for adults, despite the growing international consensus that they are at least 95% less harmful than cigarettes. His money is being used to harm public health by reducing the choices consumers have who are trying to improve their personal health in switching to lower risk alternatives.
Bloomberg also bankrolls the effort to raise the cost of everyday groceries in places like Chicago, New Mexico, Philadelphia, and Washington through higher beverage taxes. Soda taxes don’t work; they are regressive, unpopular across the political spectrum, and they result in low income people having less income in their pockets. The outcome is lower economic mobility simply because billionaire Bloomberg has no fundamental understanding of what it means to live paycheck to paycheck. So while he entertains the world’s wealthiest, his money is being used to make it harder for Americans to afford energy bills, mortgages, and everyday products.
Bloomberg's statements drip with contempt for those of lesser means than he and his fellow billionaires. Lagarde praising Bloomberg for championing a soda tax because it prevents poor and middle income households from being able to afford soda pop sounds like satire, but in this case it's all too real.
Bloomberg's policy agenda isn't just bad policy, it has also proven to be terrible politics. Take Santa Fe, which is a left-leaing city where more than 70% of voters cast their vote for Hillary Clinton in 2016. Last year voters there resoundingly rejected -- with nearly two-thirds of the vote -- the same type of soda tax that Bloomberg is pushing all over the country. It's worth noting that the Santa Fe soda tax ballot measure received its highest level of support in the most affluent areas of Santa Fe -- where people closer to Bloomberg's considerable means and sophisticated tastes live -- whereas voters living in lower-income and predominantly Hispanic neighborhoods overwhelmingly voted against this regressive tax.
Bloomberg's soda tax on Chicago residents was so reviled that it was overwhelmingly repealed.
Bloomberg's remarks were made on April 19, 2018 at the IMF’s Spring Meeting.
More from Americans for Tax Reform
By Any Metric, Biden Spending Plan Spends Little on Infrastructure
President Joe Biden has proposed $2 trillion on “infrastructure” and is expected to soon propose another $2 trillion on “care infrastructure.
While infrastructure like roads and bridges is broadly popular with the American people, there is not much true infrastructure in this plan. Instead, it is the Left’s attempt to expand the federal government and provide a down-payments on socialist policies.
The first $2 trillion of Biden’s infrastructure plan contains little in true infrastructure spending. Instead, the proposal, which has been dubbed the “American Jobs Plan,” is a liberal wishlist of policies that have little, or nothing to do with roads and bridges.
Depending on how which metrics you use, the Biden plan spends as little as 6 percent of the $2 trillion on true infrastructure or as much as 25 percent. Either way, a significant portion of the plan is on policies that have little, or nothing to do with infrastructure:
- According to some estimates, less than 13 percent of the spending plan is spent on traditional infrastructure including less than 6 percent on roads and bridges, less than 2 percent on waterways, locks, dams, ports, and airports, and less than 5 percent on broadband.
- A fact check by the Washington Post argued that this analysis was misleading. They instead calculated that only about one-quarter (25%) of the Biden plan is spent on traditional infrastructure like “roads, bridges and airports to railways, ports, water systems, the electric grid and high-speed broadband.”
Either way, a vast majority of this spending will go to other projects.
Some of the non-infrastructure provisions in Biden’s plan include:
- $400 billion (20 percent) of the entire cost of the bill is for an expansion of Medicaid. This is the biggest single category of spending
- $213 billion for housing and to increase federal control of local housing markets
- $100 billion of additional funding for schools without requiring them to reopen
- $50 billion for a new office at the U.S. Department of Commerce
- $35 billion for climate science, innovation, and R&D
- $10 billion on a uniformed “Civilian Climate Corps”
- $174 billion toward consumer rebates for purchasing electric vehicles and funds for the government to buy electric vehicles
- Implementation of the PRO Act, which would ban Right to Work laws and reclassify millions of independent contractors as employees
The plan also includes spending on job training and small-business incubators, various types of research funding, public housing, upgrades to child-care centers, community colleges, VA hospitals, and other items.
There are a lot of ways you can group these spending initiatives: healthcare spending, education spending, entitlement spending, etc. This may be the first time, however, that they’re being categorized as “infrastructure spending.” Clearly, this is a misleading way to describe these initiatives.
The second part of Biden’s plan is a thinly veiled attempt to invoke “infrastructure” in the name of spending trillions of dollars on progressive priorities, which the Left dubs “human infrastructure” or “care infrastructure.” As the New York Times explains, this proposal would “spend heavily on education and programs meant to increase the participation of women in the labor force by helping them balance work and caregiving.”
While this proposal has not been released, it could include the following:
- Extending or making permanent expanded subsidies for low- and middle-income Americans to buy health insurance
- Extending or making permanent refundable tax credits aimed at cutting poverty
- Universal childcare
- Universal pre-K
- Federal paid family leave program
- Federal paid medical leave program
- A permanent expansion of the earned income tax credit (EITC)
Progressives see this bill as an opportunity to further their agenda. Senate Budget Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders (I-VT) urged President Biden to run with the idea of “human infrastructure,” citing that, “many of us see a crisis in human infrastructure.” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) said that the existing plan “is not nearly enough,” and that it “needs to be way bigger.”
Ultimately, these policies are incremental steps towards the Green New Deal and Medicare for All. They would radically expand the welfare state and give the government more power and control over education and employment benefits.
The truth is, Biden’s spending plan has little to do with infrastructure. This plan is simply a way to push through leftist pipedreams under the guise of the popular term, “infrastructure.”
Photo Credit: Gage Skidmore
ATR, OCC Urges Congress To Reject The Misleadingly-Named “Paycheck Fairness Act”
The House of Representatives will soon vote on H.R. 7, the misleadingly-named “Paycheck Fairness Act,” legislation introduced by Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.). If implemented, H.R. 7 would enact no new pay discrimination protections. Instead, the bill would give greedy trial lawyers unprecedented opportunity to target employers with frivolous lawsuits.
Americans for Tax Reform and the Open Competition Center oppose the Paycheck Fairness Act and urge all members of Congress to vote NO.
While the left claims H.R. 7 will close the “gender pay gap,” this legislation is not about equal pay for equal work. The Equal Pay Act of 1963 explicitly outlawed gender-based pay discrimination. And while men make slightly more on average than women, accurate estimates show that women make 95 to 98 cents per every dollar a man makes, a far narrower difference than the 22-cent pay gap the left constantly cites.
Under the Equal Pay Act, employees must provide evidence that their bosses are engaging in pay discrimination based on sex. Once they have provided the evidence, the burden of proof shifts to the employer to prove that the wage difference is based on “any factor other than sex.”
The Paycheck Fairness Act abolishes this decades-old standard and replaces it with a “bona fide factor other than sex” standard. This would require businesses to show that pay discrepancies between workers purportedly doing the same job are “consistent with business necessity.”
While these may seem like mild semantic differences, this change would erode crucial flexibility in the workplace. Currently, employers can negotiate employment and compensation arrangements with male and female workers that prefer more flexibility to a larger paycheck. Under the new “bona fide factor” standard, employers would likely be pressured to enact standardized compensation packages for employees to mitigate risk of litigation.
H.R. 7 would also lead to a dramatic decrease, or outright elimination, of performance-based pay in the American workplace. Under the new standard, employers could become liable for rewarding male and female employees with different bonuses based on performance, as a female worker could allege in court that these bonuses were not a “business necessity.” This risk would encourage businesses to adopt a uniform pay scale, reducing crucial incentives for employees to excel and suppressing pay across the board.
Additionally, H.R. 7 would automatically make workers part of class-action lawsuits unless they opt-out, encouraging greedy trial lawyers to reap a windfall by filing class-action suits against businesses. H.R. 7 also effectively removes the $300,000 cap for punitive damages for employment discrimination cases, putting employers at even greater risk of litigation.
Ultimately, the so-called Paycheck Fairness Act will only harm workers and expose employers to frivolous litigation. All members of Congress should vote NO.
Photo Credit: Dan Gaken
North Dakotans Will Get Stuck with Higher Utility Bills Due to Biden Corporate Tax Rate Hike
If Biden and the Democrats enact a corporate income tax rate increase, they will have to explain why they just increased your utility bills
If President Biden and congressional Democrats hike the corporate income tax rate, North Dakota households and businesses will get stuck with higher utility bills. Democrats plan to impose a corporate income tax rate increase to 28%, even higher than communist China's 25%.
Customers bear the cost of corporate income taxes imposed on utility companies. Corporate income tax cuts drive utility rates down, corporate income tax hikes drive utility rates up.
Electric, gas, and water companies must get their billing rates approved by the respective state utility commissions. When the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act cut the corporate income tax rate from 35% to 21%, utility companies worked with officials to pass along the tax savings to customers, including at least three North Dakota utilities.
Working with the Public Service Commission, MDU, Xcel Energy North Dakota and Otter Tail Power Company passed along tax savings to customers.
MDU: As noted in this Sept. 26, 2018 PSC statement:
In September 2017 the Commission approved a $4.6 million interim rate increase in accordance with state law. That interim rate was reduced to $2.7 million in March 2018 to reflect tax savings due to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Because the agreement approved today includes a smaller increase than the interim rate, MDU natural gas customers will receive a refund for any excess revenue collected from September 2017 to present. The refund will be issued within 90 days of approval of a refund plan.
As part of the agreement, the fixed basic service charge will be $20.87 per month for residential customers. Because the rate approved today is less than the current interim rate, customers will actually see a decrease in their bills.
Otter Tail Power Company: Also as noted in the Sept. 26, 2018 PSC statement:
The PSC also today approved an approximately $4.6 million (3.09%) annual revenue increase for Otter Tail electric service. The company had originally asked for an increase of $13.1 million (8.72%). The company has not asked for a rate increase since 2008. Since then, Otter Tail Power has experienced increased operating expenses and costs driven by the company’s investments in generation, transmission, and distribution infrastructure.
In December 2017 the Commission approved a $12.8 million interim rate increase in accordance with state law. That interim rate was reduced to $8.3 million in February 2018 to reflect tax savings due to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Because the agreement approved today includes a smaller increase than the interim rate, Otter Tail electric customers will receive a refund for any excess revenue collected from December 2017 to present. The refund will be issued within 90 days of implementation of the final rates.
As part of the agreement, the fixed basic service charge will be no higher than $14 a month for residential customers. Because the rate approved today is less than the current interim rate, customers will actually see a decrease in their bills.
Xcel Energy North Dakota: As noted in a Feb. 8, 2019 Fargo Forum article:
Utility companies across the country paid lower taxes after the federal Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 passed. Since then, states have been ordering those companies to pass on the savings to customers.
There was some discussion of using the money to improve energy equipment in North Dakota, or possibly holding down future rate increases.
But on Friday, Feb. 8, Xcel announced its North Dakota customers will receive a rebate. Xcel Energy will soon distribute nearly $10 million to all North Dakota electricity customers as a result of the federal tax cut. All Xcel Energy electricity customers in the state will receive a credit on their bills. The refund for a residential electricity customer will average about $46, but will vary based on each customer’s actual use.
The North Dakota Public Service Commission approved the refunds this week and customers should receive them as one-time bill credit beginning this spring.
As an additional part of the agreement, North Dakota customers will not see any increases in their base electric rates until at least Jan. 1, 2021, which is the earliest any future rate reviews could take effect. The agreement also allows Xcel Energy the ability to provide customers with additional refunds should the company achieve higher earnings than authorized by the commission.
Conversely, a vote for a corporate income tax rate hike is a vote for higher utility bills as households recover from the pandemic.
Many small businesses operate on tight margins and can't afford higher heating, cooling, gas, and refrigeration costs. President Biden should withdraw his tax increases.
Republicans Should Continue To Reject Cicilline Antitrust Report
The House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday will markup the “Investigation of Competition in Digital Markets” report spearheaded by Antitrust Subcommittee Chairman David Cicilline (D-R.I.).
The report is nothing more than a Democrat attempt to reshape decades of antitrust law to the detriment of American competition and innovation.
Not a single Republican joined the report when it was initially released, and Republicans should remain opposed to the left’s attempts to weaponize antitrust law.
ATR stands in opposition to both the findings and recommendations of this report which recommends restricting tech companies from operating in multiple markets and altering how antitrust enforcement can be brought against suspected violators.
Alarmingly, the Cicilline report argues that Courts judging antitrust enforcement on the “narrow” basis of consumer welfare have significantly weakened antitrust laws over the past decades. One proposed solution is to rewrite existing laws to essentially nullify the consumer welfare standard, which would cripple American free enterprise and innovation.
Under the consumer welfare standard, business conduct is evaluated on whether or not it harms consumers through tangible factors such as higher prices or reduced quality or output. If consumers are not being harmed, antitrust enforcement action is not taken. The consumer welfare standard, which provides a rule-of-law approach to antitrust enforcement, has undergirded antitrust law for over four decades.
Before the consumer welfare standard was widely adopted, antitrust law was vague and unfocused, leading to inconsistent rulings and enforcement actions designed to punish political enemies or reward political allies. Abandoning the consumer welfare standard would only serve to politicize the antitrust enforcement process and empower faceless bureaucrats and trial lawyers to target companies they do not like with frivolous monopolization litigation.
After the report was first published in October, ATR President Grover Norquist said the following:
These recommendations pursue political prerogatives rather than consider what is truly best for all Americans. It is not good for all Americans if breaking up a firm means prices go up 20%. Nor is it good if those experiencing food insecurity are cut off from innovative food delivery services. Small business is not better off without a digital main street to compete with Big Box retailers physical and digital store fronts. Smart phone users could choose a fully open system, but most think they are better off when their devices and app stores secure their payment data. We were not better off when GPS systems led our car to a dead-end road or the edge of a lake.
Ahead of Wednesday’s markup, it is important to keep in mind the Cicilline report remains a tool to increase the power of government bureaucrats to gain power at the expense of American innovation and competition. Every Republican rightly stood against the Cicilline report when it was first published. No Republicans should support the report after the markup.
Photo Credit: Brookings Institution
ATR Leads Coalition Opposed to Sami's Law
Americans for Tax Reform has led a coalition of 17 groups and activists in opposition to H.R. 1082, also known as "Sami's Law." If implemented, H.R. 1082 would undermine independent contractors nationwide and open the door for crushing federal regulation of the ridesharing industry.
The coalition urges Congress to vote against H.R. 1082 and any of its provisions if proposed in separate bills.
You can view the letter here and below.
Dear Member of Congress,
We write in opposition to H.R. 1082, known as “Sami’s Law.”
This is not a safety bill. It is a bill to undermine independent contractors nationwide.
We urge you to vote against this legislation and any of its provisions if proposed in separate bills.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) want to rush H.R. 1082 through Congress without hearings or scrutiny.
H.R. 1082 would set up a federal taxicab commission to regulate Americans who use or provide ridesharing services. Ridesharing is already heavily regulated by state and local governments, and federal regulation is completely unwarranted.
Biden Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg will stack the new 17-member federal regulatory commission with anti-independent contractor central planners. The Washington DC-based commission will work to saddle all 50 states with top-down federal regulations.
Ridesharing emerged in the first place because Americans were desperate to find an alternative to the corrupt taxi commissions and entrenched industry players who provided bad service at excessive cost.
Private sector ridesharing services have voluntarily and proactively developed a full slate of safety features for riders and drivers, including but not limited to the name and photo of the driver, the make, model, and color of the vehicle, the license plate number, as well as the ability for riders to share their real-time trip status with family and friends who can see their exact location and time of arrival.
By a 3-1 ratio, Americans rightly consider rideshare drivers to be independent contractors and not employees, according to a landmark Pew Research Center survey. The survey found that most Americans believe the government should use a light regulatory touch in this area of the economy. As noted by Pew, "the clear preference for a light regulatory approach among partisans in all camps is striking."
As noted above, ridesharing is already heavily regulated at the state and local level. This bill would make it more difficult for Americans to earn a living as independent contractors.
Sincerely,
Grover Norquist
President, Americans for Tax Reform
James L. Martin
Founder/Chairman, 60 Plus Association
Saulius “Saul” Anuzis
President, 60 Plus Association
Brent Wm. Gardner
Chief Government Affairs Officer, Americans for Prosperity
Ryan Ellis
President, Center for a Free Economy
Andrew F. Quinlan
President, Center for Freedom and Prosperity
Curt Levey
President, Committee for Justice
Ashley Baker
Director of Public Policy, Committee for Justice
Thomas Schatz
President, Council for Citizens Against Government Waste
Katie McAuliffe
Executive Director, Digital Liberty
Adam Brandon
President, FreedomWorks
Mike Hruby
President, Free Jobs for Massachusetts
Heather R. Higgins
CEO, Independent Women's Voice
Andrew Langer
President, Institute for Liberty
Seton Motley
President, Less Government
Tom Hebert
Executive Director, Open Competition Center
Roslyn Layton, PhD Aalborg University
Senior Contributor, Forbes
Photo Credit: kmf164
Psaki in Deep Denial on Impact of Corporate Tax Rate on Utility Bills
Following enactment of TCJA, utility companies across the country worked with state utility commissions to pass along corporate tax rate savings to customers. Americans for Tax Reform has documented over 140 examples. And here is a compilation of national and local television news coverage of same.
The burden of corporate taxes is borne by utility customers, a fact that White House press secretary Jen Psaki seemed to deny today during the press briefing.
It is uncomfortable for the White House and Democrats to acknowledge that a corporate tax rate hike will be borne by households and small businesses that typically operate on tight margins and have considerable heating, cooling, gas, and refrigeration costs. Just as Americans are digging out from the pandemic, Biden and the Democrats are there to whack them with higher costs.
Let's look at four citations post-TCJA:
Example 2:
The legislation cuts the federal corporate income tax rate from 35% to 21% effective January 1, 2018. This tax cut, in turn, reduces the cost of service for many of Virginia’s major electric, gas and water utilities. – January 8, 2018, Virginia SCC Press Release
Example 3:
The Arizona Corporation Commission is following through on its promise to pass savings created by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act to Arizona utility ratepayers. As of August, the effort has totaled $189,088,437.- August 24, 2018 Arizona Corporation Commission press release
Click here to see 140 documented examples of utilities passing along savings from the corporate tax rate cut with the Tax Cuts & Jobs Act.
Norquist: Why is Biden Raising Taxes in a Pandemic?
ATR President Grover Norquist joined Jacqueline Alemany on Washington Post Live to discuss President Biden’s proposed tax increases and his more than $4 trillion infrastructure plan.
During this conversation, Norquist posed an important question: why would you raise taxes during a pandemic?
Grover Norquist:
"Well, you have to ask yourself, we're coming out of a pandemic; we're coming out at a time when many states closed much of their economies. We're beginning to come out of this and why would Biden think now is a good time to raise the American corporate income tax to the highest in the world, higher than communist China; higher than anything in Europe; and the most low-growth path by having such a high corporate income tax?
Why would you double the capital gains tax? Why would you set a second level of the death tax? Why would you add energy taxes? The United States is very competitive in its cost of energy, and he wants to subsidize uncompetitive, expensive energy and tax energy that's less expensive; and undo infrastructure, to tear down exactly the infrastructure that gets natural gas to people's jobs and stopping the pipelines in the Midwest?
So, why a list of things all of which we know slow economic growth and put us in a bad path in terms of jobs or GDP or competitiveness in the world?"
Michigan Residents Will Get Stuck with Higher Utility Bills Due to Biden Corporate Tax Rate Hike
If Stabenow and Peters vote for Biden's corporate income tax rate increase, they will have to explain why they just increased your utility bills
If President Biden and Sens. Debbie Stabenow and Gary Peters raise the corporate tax rate, Michigan households and businesses will get stuck with higher utility bills. Democrats plan to impose a corporate income tax rate increase to 28%, even higher than communist China's 25%.
Customers bear the cost of corporate income taxes imposed on utility companies. Corporate income tax cuts drive utility rates down, corporate income tax hikes drive utility rates up.
Electric, gas, and water companies must get their billing rates approved by the respective state utility commissions. When the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act cut the corporate income tax rate from 35% to 21%, utility companies worked with officials to pass along the tax savings to customers, including at least 9 Michigan utilities.
As noted in a May 2018 Michigan Public Service Commission press release:
The Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) today approved settlement agreements with seven utilities to pass on to ratepayers their savings from the federal tax law rewrite, beginning in July. Three other utilities had no impact from the changes.
Filings were approved for Alpena Power Co., DTE Gas Co., Michigan Gas Utilities Corp., Northern States Power, SEMCO Energy Gas Co., and Upper Michigan Energy Resources Corp. (UMERC).
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"Through swift action by the Commission, Michigan ratepayers will experience millions of dollars in refunds on their utility bills starting this summer due to changes in federal corporate income taxes," said Sally Talberg, chairman of the MPSC. “Utilities are benefiting from the tax cuts and their customers should, too.”
Consumers Energy passed along savings to customers as well:
Consumers Energy today issued the following statement from President & CEO Patti Poppe:
‘Today, Consumers Energy was pleased to submit a proposal to the Michigan Public Service Commission that would lower customer bills starting in 2018 by approximately $200 million, as a result of the recent federal tax reform changes. We are thrilled to be able to pass along 100 percent of the savings from tax reform to the people we are privileged to serve. This underscores our commitment to people, planet and prosperity for all of Michigan.’”—Jan. 19, 2018 Consumers Energy press release
DTE Energy passed along savings to customers as well:
DTE Energy issued the following statement regarding the impacts of H.R.1, the Tax and Jobs Act.
"The recent passage of the Federal Tax Cuts and Jobs Act will offer benefits to energy customers across the country – including DTE’s utility customers here in Michigan. The reduction of the corporate tax rate will result in lower bills for DTE’s 2.2 million electric and 1.3 million gas customers.
“In 2018, a savings of nearly $190 million will be passed along to customers.
“As this tax reduction works through the regulatory process, our average electric and gas customers will see a reduction in their rates of about 3 percent. The reduction in rates due to the tax law change will be a significant infusion into the Michigan economy as our customers will enjoy this benefit for years to come.” – Jan. 23, 2018 DTE Energy press release
ITC Holdings Corporation passed along savings to customers as well:
ITC Holdings Corp. (ITC), the nation's largest independent electricity transmission company, today announced it is reducing its customer rates as a result of the lower federal corporate income tax rate the company received under the Tax Cuts & Jobs Act of 2017.
ITC's wholesale electricity customers throughout the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) region will see an 8-to-10 percent reduction in transmission rates, retroactive to January 1, 2018, beginning with bills for services provided in March. A similar reduction will be made to ITC's formula rate in the Southwest Power Pool region for future periods, effective back to January 1, 2018. – April 2, 2018 ITC Holdings Corporation article excerpt
Upper Peninsula Power Company passed along savings to customers as well:
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) was passed into law at the end of 2017, effectively lowering corporate tax rates from 35 percent to 21 percent. Upper Peninsula Power Company (UPPCO) is requesting approval of a proposal that would pass along the savings attributable to the TCJA to its customers. UPPCO’s proposal was filed with the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) on March 30th as part of the process that is required by the state for determining how the benefits of the TCJA are to be credited to the utility’s customers.
“Under our plan, a typical residential customer consuming 500 kilowatt hours per month will see a reduction of approximately $1.30 on their monthly bills,” said Brett French, Vice-President of Business Development and Communications. “This is in addition to approximately $7 in monthly savings currently being seen by a typical residential customer because of the steps we implemented in January. We anticipate our customers will begin to see the additional savings later this summer after the MPSC approves our plan.” – April 2, 2018 WLUC News article excerpt
Conversely, a vote for a corporate income tax rate hike is a vote for higher utility bills right as the USA is trying to recover from the pandemic.
Sens. Stabenow and Peters would be wise to stay away from tax increases.
Biden Considers $87 Billion Gas Tax Hike, Clear Violation of $400,000 Tax Pledge
President Joe Biden told Members of Congress on Monday that he is open to raising the federal gas tax as a way to fund his $2.25 trillion spending package, a clear violation of Biden’s pledge against any tax increase on anyone making less than $400,000.
According to Bloomberg News, Biden told members of Congress that he is open to a 5 cent per gallon increase on the federal gasoline tax, more than a 27 percent increase on the current gas tax.
The Eno Center for Transportation estimates that a 5 cent per gallon gas tax hike would raise taxes by more than $87 billion over a 10-year window, with federal revenues increasing by $9.1 billion in year one.
President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris pledged at least 56 times that no American making less than $400,000 would see a penny of their taxes increased.
"I pay for every single thing I’m proposing without raising your taxes one penny. If you make less than 400 grand, you’re not going to get a penny taxed," Biden told a Wisconsin crowd last September.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg went on record in February, unequivocally stating that raising the gas tax would violate Biden’s $400,000 tax pledge.
“The President’s made a commitment that this administration will not raise taxes on people making less than $400,000 a year,” Buttigieg said during a Friday appearance on Bloomberg Radio’s “Sound On” show. “And so that rules out approaches like the old fashioned gas tax.”
Biden’s proposal to raise the gas tax would not only be a clear violation of his promise but would disproportionately place the burden of the tax increase on lower-income Americans who pay a larger portion of their income on gasoline. The same would be true for households in rural and suburban areas who on average drive further distances to commute to work and purchase more gasoline than households in urban areas.
Photo Credit: Pixabay
More from Americans for Tax Reform
Biden Gas Tax Hike Would Violate Middle Class Tax Pledge
Bloomberg News is reporting that President Biden is open to a gas tax increase on the American people.
As tweeted by Bloomberg's Erik Wasson:
Biden during infrastructure meeting with Congress was open to 5 cent gas tax increase, splitting up Jobs plan into different bills and possibly shrinking it somewhat says @DonaldPayneJr. "It doesn't seem like he really cares how it gets done as long as it gets done"
"A Biden gas tax hike would be a blatant violation of his pledge against any tax increase on anyone making less than $400,000" said Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform.
President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris pledged to every American making less than $400,000 that they would not raise a single penny of their taxes. Biden and Harris made the pledge at least 56 times.
Below is the video and written documentation of this promise, in case Biden and Harris try to weasel out of their pledge.
Click here for the short version of the video with 13 examples of the pledge.
Click here for the full version of the video with every instance of the pledge.
Joe Biden on CNBC, May 22, 2020: "Nobody making under 400,000 bucks would have their taxes raised. Period. Bingo."
Joe Biden on ABC News, August 23, 2020:
David Muir, ABC News: "So, no new taxes, $400,000 and down?"
Biden: "No new taxes. There would be no need for any."
Joe Biden in Kenosha, Wisconsin on September 3, 2020: "I pay for every single thing I’m proposing without raising your taxes one penny. If you make less than 400 grand, you’re not going to get a penny taxed."
Joe Biden during a WFLA Interview on September 15, 2020: “Nobody making less than $400,000 have to pay a penny more in tax under my proposals.”
Joe Biden during a Telemundo Interview on September 15, 2020: "I'm not going to raise taxes on anybody making less than 400,000.”
Joe Biden on Twitter, September 17, 2020: “If you make under $400,000, you will not pay a penny more in taxes when I'm president."
Joe Biden on Twitter, September 17, 2020: "No surprise, Donald Trump is lying about my tax plan. Here’s the truth about how I’ll make corporations pay their fair share while ensuring Americans making under $400,000 don’t pay a penny more."
Joe Biden in Hermantown, Minnesota on September 18, 2020 "And I’ll do it without raising anyone’s taxes if you make less than $400,000 a year."
Joe Biden in Manitowoc, Wisconsin on September 21, 2020: “Under my plan nobody making less than 400,000 bucks -- and I don’t make it and you don’t make it, I don’t think -- in this country will see their taxes go up.”
Joe Biden in Greensburg, Pennsylvania on September 30, 2020: “And we’re going to do it without asking anyone who makes under $400,000 a year to pay one more penny in taxes. Guaranteed. My word on it.”
Joe Biden in Jonestown, Pennsylvania on September 30, 2020: “We’re going to do it all without raising a penny in taxes for anybody who makes less than $400,000 a year.”
Joe Biden in Grand Rapids, Michigan on October 2, 2020: “Anyone making less than $400,000 a year won’t pay a penny more."
Joe Biden in Miami, Florida on October 5, 2020: “I’m not going to raise taxes on anyone who makes less than $400,000 a year. You won’t pay a penny more. I guarantee you.”
Kamala Harris during Vice Presidential Debate on October 7, 2020: “Joe Biden has been very clear. He will not raise taxes on anybody who makes less than $400,000 a year.”
Joe Biden on Twitter, October 7, 2020: “Let me be clear: A Biden-Harris Administration won't increase taxes by a dime on anyone making less than $400,000 a year.”
Joe Biden in Las Vegas, Nevada on October 9, 2020: “It’s not going to raise a penny in tax for anyone making less than $400,000 a year. Not a penny.”
Kamala Harris on Twitter, October 9, 2020: “Joe Biden has been very clear: he will not raise taxes on anybody who makes less than $400,000 a year.”
Joe Biden in Erie, Pennsylvania on October 10, 2020: “I’m not going to raise taxes on anybody making less than 400 grand.”
Joe Biden in Toledo, Ohio on October 12, 2020: “I’m not going to raise taxes on anyone who makes less than $400,000 a year."
Joe Biden in Pembroke Pines, Florida on October 13, 2020: “I’m not going to raise taxes on a single solitary American making less than $400,000 a year. You won’t pay a penny more. It’s a guarantee.”
Joe Biden on Twitter, October 15, 2020: “Let me be very clear: If you make under $400,000 you won’t pay a penny more in taxes under my administration.”
Joe Biden ABC Town Hall on October 15, 2020:
Anthony Archer (Voter): "Thank you, Mr. Vice President. You stated that anyone making less than $400,000 will not see one single penny of their taxes raised."
Biden: "That’s right."
Joe Biden in Michigan on October 16, 2020: “No one who makes less than $400,000 a year will pay a penny more.”
Kamala Harris in Orlando, Florida on October 19, 2020: “Joe Biden will not increase taxes on anyone who makes less than $400,000 a year, period.”
Kamala Harris in Jacksonville, Florida on October 19, 2020: “Taxes will not be raised on anyone making less than $400,000 a year.”
Kamala Harris in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on October 20, 2020: “We will not increase taxes for anybody making under $400,000 a year.”
Kamala Harris in Asheville, North Carolina on October 21, 2020: “Joe Biden is saying, I’m not going to raise taxes on anybody who makes less than $400,000 a year.”
Kamala Harris in Atlanta, Georgia on October 23, 2020: “Which is why Joe Biden and I are saying, “One, taxes will not be raised on anyone making less than $400,000 a year.”
Joe Biden in Bucks County, Pennsylvania on October 24, 2020: “None of you will have your taxes raised. Anyone making less than $400,000 will not see a penny in taxes raised."
Joe Biden on CBS 60 Minutes, October 25, 2020:
Biden: “Nobody making less than $400,000 will pay a penny more in tax under my proposal.”
Norah O'Donnell, CBS: "That's a promise?"
Biden: "That's a guarantee. A promise. I give you my word as a Biden. That's an absolute guarantee."
Joe Biden in Atlanta, Georgia on October 27, 2020: “I guarantee you -- no matter what you hear this president lying about -- no one making less than $400,000 a year will have one penny in taxes raised. Not one penny. It’s a guarantee.”
Kamala Harris in Reno, Nevada on October 27, 2020: "Joe Biden says we’re not going to increase taxes on anyone making less than $400,000 a year."
Kamala Harris in Las Vegas, Nevada on October 27, 2020: “Joe Biden says, that we’re not going to raise taxes on anyone making less than $400,000 a year."
Joe Biden in Atlanta, Georgia on October 27, 2020: “No one making less than $400,000 a year will have one penny in taxes raised. Not one penny. It's a guarantee.”
Kamala Harris in Phoenix, Arizona on October 28, 2020: “We are not going to raise taxes on anyone making under $400,000 a year."
Kamala Harris in Tucson, Arizona on October 28, 2020: “Joe Biden who says, 'You want to deal with the economy, then one, we will not raise taxes on anyone making less than $400,000 a year.'"
Joe Biden in Broward County, Florida on October 29, 2020: “We can do it without raising taxes on a single person making less than 400,000 bucks a year.”
Joe Biden in Tampa Bay, Florida on October 29, 2020: “I guarantee you -- my word as a Biden -- no one making less than $400,000 will pay a single penny more in taxes. Not a penny.”
Kamala Harris in Fort Worth, Texas on October 30, 2020: “Joe Biden is committed to not raising taxes ever on anyone making less than $400,000 a year.”
Joe Biden in Des Moines, Iowa on October 30, 2020: “We can do it without raising a penny tax on the middle class. I guarantee you -- give you my word as a Biden -- no one making less than $400,000 a year will see a penny in their taxes raised, no one.”
Kamala Harris in McAllen, Texas on October 30, 2020: “Let’s deal with the economy and not raise taxes for anyone who makes less than $400,000.”
Joe Biden in St. Paul, Minnesota on October 30, 2020: “I promise you, you have my word, if you make less than $400,000 a year, you won’t pay a penny more in taxes.”
Joe Biden in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on October 30, 2020: “I give you my word as a Biden, if you make less than $400,000 -- if I’m elected president -- you’re not going to see a penny of your taxes go up, not a penny.”
Kamala Harris in Houston, Texas on October 30, 2020: “Joe Biden says we will not raise taxes on anyone that makes less than $400,000 a year.”
Kamala Harris in Fort Worth, Texas on October 30, 2020: “Which is why Joe Biden is committed to not raising taxes ever on anyone making less than $400,000 a year.”
Joe Biden in Detroit, Michigan on October 31, 2020: “Under my plan if you make less than $400,000 I guarantee you're not going to pay a penny more in taxes.”
Joe Biden in Flint, Michigan on October 31, 2020: “Under my plan, if you make less than $400,000 a year, you’re not going to pay a penny in additional taxes.”
Joe Biden on Twitter, November 1, 2020: "Under my tax plan, no one making under $400,000 will see their taxes go up."
Joe Biden in Cleveland, Ohio on November 2, 2020: “Under my plan, if you make less than $400,000, you won’t pay a single penny more in taxes. You have my word on it.”
Joe Biden in Beaver County, Pennsylvania on November 2, 2020: “We’re not going to raise taxes on anybody making less than 400,000 bucks a year.”
Joe Biden in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on November 2, 2020: "Under my plan I commit to you no one making less than 400 grand is going to see a penny in taxes raised."
Kamala Harris in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on November 2, 2020: “Let me be clear, Joe and I will not increase taxes on anyone making under $400,000 a year, period.”
Joe Biden in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on November 2, 2020: “Under my plan, as Kamala said, if you make less than 400,000 bucks, you’re not going to pay a penny more in taxes.”
Kamala Harris in Detroit, Michigan on November 3, 2020: “That’s why Joe says we’re not passing any taxes on anybody making less than $400,000 a year."
Kamala Harris on Twitter, November 11, 2020: “As president, @JoeBiden will make corporations and the wealthiest finally pay their fair share—and he won’t ask a single person making under $400,000 per year to pay a penny more in taxes."
Kamala Harris on Twitter, November 21, 2020: “Let’s be clear: if you make under $400,000 a year, you won’t pay a penny more in taxes under a Biden-Harris administration.”
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