Sen. Cornyn: Budget Taxes All Texans Too Much
Press Release
Sen. Cornyn: Budget Taxes All Texans Too Much
Budget should help small businesses create new jobs, not make it harder to do so
U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, a member of the Budget and Finance Committees, made the following comments regarding President Obama's proposed $3.6 trillion Budget during an appearance on The Joe Pags Show on WOAI radio in San Antonio.
"In politics and particularly here in Washington, it's always important not just to listen to what people say, but it's especially important to see what they do. And this budget that the President has introduced will raise taxes on everybody.
"First of all, there'll be an energy tax. Some have called it a light switch tax - in other words turning on your lights, your electricity, is going to be a lot more expensive, as will your gasoline and all energy being produced because of this cap-and-trade program, that's going to allow the federal government to be command and control center for all energy use all across the country, and be a huge source of revenue.
"Well they claim only to raise the top two marginal tax rates, what they forget is that many small businesses or sole proprietors or partnerships or sub-chapter S corporations, and that income they get in their small business flows through what is reported on an individual tax return. And now they're raising those tax rates. The top tax rate now will be in excess of 40 percent. At a time when the economy is not doing well, to me it seems like the last thing you would want to do is increase taxes, making it harder for small businesses to either retain or create new jobs.
"Of course Texas is an oil producing state, an energy producing state. We're number one in clean energy, like wind energy, but what this would do is attempt to raise taxes on small and independent oil and gas producers, which will make us more dependent in the long run on imported oil from the Mideast. And again where the energy sector in our state is a big job creator, big job producer, why would you want to raise taxes on the sector of the economy that is retaining and creating new jobs? So, it just doesn't make much sense to me."
Sen. Cornyn addressed a wide range of additional topics during the interview, as well, including AIG bonuses, tort reform and the effect of frivolous lawsuits on small businesses, proposed voter ID legislation, stimulus funds and Facebook.
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