Pearce Supports Tax Hikes on Middle Class

New Report Confirms Radical Pearce Plan Would Equal More Taxes

Albuquerque, NM- With New Mexico taxpayers looking toward tomorrow’s April 15 deadline, it’s becoming increasingly clear just how disastrous Steve Pearce’s wrongheaded priorities would be for families in southern New Mexico.

For months on the campaign trail, Congressman Steve Pearce has offered nothing but hypocrisy and political double talk on his support for the reckless policies that increased the federal debt by $4.3 trillion during his time in Washington and paved the road for the economic mess we are in today. Yet, Pearce has continued to push for a radical solution to the economic mess he helped create -- a massive federal sales tax hike on middle class New Mexico families.

And now, a new report out today shows that if Pearce had his way, working people in New Mexico would face an average additional tax burden this year of $1,012. And the 99 percent of people in New Mexico benefitting from tax breaks signed into law as part of the economic recovery act would be paying higher taxes.

“With April 15 approaching, Steve Pearce’s support for a 23 percent federal sales tax hike on food, gas, clothes, medicine and just about everything else that New Mexicans buy is coming into clearer focus,” said DPNM Spokesman James Hallinan. "And as if Pearce’s quest to hike taxes on New Mexicans wasn’t enough, a new report out shows that if Steve Pearce had his way, New Mexicans would face an average additional tax burden this year of $1,012. Pearce’s radical priorities just don’t match those of hard-working families in southern New Mexico,” added Hallinan.

Background:

According to a report from Citizens for Tax Justice, 99 percent of working families and individuals in New Mexico benefitted from at least one of the tax cuts signed into law in the economic recovery package. Additionally, working people in New Mexico received $1,012, on average, from these breaks. [Citizens for Tax Justice report, accessed 4/14/10]

On his web site, Pearce argued that the economic recovery act “failed.” [PeopleforPearce.com, accessed 4/14/10]

In the 108th, 109th and 110th Congresses, the entire time Pearce served in Congress, he co-sponsored HR25, the “Fair Tax,” which would enact a 23 percent sales tax on all retail goods and services. [THOMAS bill summaries, HR25; American for Fair Taxation, fairtax.org, accessed 7/30/08]

While Pearce was in office, the public debt grew $4.3 trillion, from $6.3 to $10.6 trillion. [treasurydirect.gov, accessed 2/03/10]

The Cibola Beacon reported that Pearce still “sees a sales tax as the only truly fair tax and he would like to see tax reform in Washington.” [Cibola Beacon, 2/01/10]