“Where’s Joyce?”
That was the running gag among some of the Republicans who gathered Wednesday to sign the Americans for Tax Reform (ATR) no-tax pledge at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics. About 50 Republicans running for offices ranging from state legislature to Congress came together to sign the “Taxpayer Protection Pledge” not to support any tax increases.
Several mentioned to NHJournal that, based on her campaign rhetoric, it’s a pledge Democratic nominee for governor Joyce Craig should be able to sign.
“If Joyce Craig means it when she says ‘no sales or income tax,’ where was she?” asked New Hampshire GOP chair Chris Ager, who was on hand for the ATR event. “She hasn’t signed the no-tax pledge because she can’t. She’s already promising an income tax!”
Not everyone was laughing.
“I saw the commercial for Joyce Craig on TV,” said Speaker of the House Sherm Packard (R-Londonderry.) “‘No income or sales tax ever.’ One of the biggest lies on the planet right now, because there’s no way that she could put a budget together the way she did her budgets in Manchester and not pass a myriad of new taxes.”
Grover Norquist of Americans for Tax Reform and GOP candidate for governor Kelly Ayotte
Craig’s GOP opponent, Kelly Ayotte, has signed the ATR pledge promising to “oppose and veto any and all efforts to increase taxes.”
Asked if Craig has signed this or any other pledge not to support higher taxes, her campaign declined to respond.
It’s unlikely she would, given that Craig is campaigning on a return of the income tax on interest and dividends that will be entirely phased out by the end of the year. She has called repealing the I&D income tax a “tax break to the most rich in our state.”
One of Craig’s most vocal supporters, Democratic strategist Lucas Meyers, recently told radio host Jack Heath, “It’s a tax people probably want to pay.”
ATR President Grover Norquist isn’t surprised.
“Taxes are the biggest difference between the two parties,” Norquist said. “There are some Democrats who don’t want to take your guns. There are no Democrats who don’t want to take your money.”
Eliminating the tax on I&D income will make New Hampshire truly income tax free, putting it among the nine states with no individual income taxes. But, Norquist noted, other states are moving in the same direction, creating more competition for businesses and families looking for low-tax states.
“They’ve actually pulled the trigger in Kentucky and West Virginia to click down as revenue comes in, and they hit revenue targets, their tax rate is coming down until they get to zero. Iowa has taken it from 8.6 percent down to 3.9 percent. Their leadership is committed to going to zero.”
Outgoing state Senate President Jeb Bradley (R-Wolfeboro) told the crowd, “Make no bones about it: An income tax is on the ballot. It’s going to be the first bill out of the chute” if Democrats win. “Restoration of the income tax on interest and dividends.”
Ayotte has made Craig’s support for returning the income tax a main point in her latest TV ad.
State Rep. Ted Gorski (R-Bedford) represents a once-solidly Republican community that’s trending blue. He was on hand to sign the no-tax pledge, and he said that while Democrats are talking a lot about abortion, what he’s hearing when he knocks on doors is inflation and prices. “People are hurting. They want us to keep their taxes low.”
Merrimack Rep. Tim McGough is running for state Senate. He says the “abortion vs economy” debate isn’t even close.
“The highest cost of living, paying the bills — that’s by far the number one issue I hear when I knock on voters’ doors. Abortion, maybe one out of 10 or two out of 10. And we’re knocking the same doors as our opponent, not just Republicans. So it’s not skewed data.
“Every single day, I’m hearing from people asking, ‘How am I going to pay my bills? Why is my grocery bill $240? I heard that same figure from two doors in six days — the exact same number,” McGough said.
House Majority Leader Jason Osborne says the tax talk is starting to get through to voters.
“I think that people are paying attention when they hear the Democrats talk about creating new taxes. That certainly is firing them up.”
Bradley urged candidates in the room to make taxes their number one topic in the final weeks of the campaign.
“There are a lot of things we can’t control, like the runaway inflationary policies happening in Washington. But we can protect people’s pocketbooks in New Hampshire by focusing on lower taxes,” Bradley said. “It’s tried and true. It’s the way we win elections.”
