NTU to Larry Grant: Stop Deceiving Idaho
Posted by Adam Graham in : Idaho Conservative, TheThe National Taxpayer’s Union is coming down on Larry Grant’s latest ad using their data:
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Oct. 31 /U.S. Newswire/ — Accuracy demands that Congressional candidate Larry Grant retract his advertisements trashing a popular plan known as the Fair Tax — that’s the gist of a letter the non-partisan National Taxpayers Union (NTU) sent to Grant late yesterday. NTU has over 3,000 members in Idaho and 350,000 members nationwide.
“This ad portrays the 23 percent sales tax as an addition to the already-high tax burden that Americans suffer,” NTU Government Affairs Manager Andrew Moylan wrote. “That is completely untrue, and the voters of Idaho’s First Congressional District deserve better.”
Recently Grant began running advertisements against his opponent Bill Sali, accusing Sali of supporting a 23 percent tax on everything Americans buy. The ad’s claim is based on Sali’s reply to NTU’s Congressional Candidate Survey. Sali answered “yes” to the Survey question asking whether he would “work and vote to repeal the entire federal Tax Code and completely replace it.”
Sali then checked the following reform option as one that he could support: “a national retail sales tax that provides reasonable protection for low-income people, with a U.S. Constitutional Amendment to abolish and prohibit all federal income taxes after a transition period.” This proposal is embodied in NTU-backed legislation known as the Fair Tax Act (H.R 25 sponsored by Rep. John Linder (R-GA) and S. 25 sponsored by Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-GA)). The bills have 61 cosponsors between both chambers.
Moylan stressed these facts in NTU’s letter to Grant, noting that “the Fair Tax would completely eliminate all income, payroll, and death taxes at the same time. The 23 percent rate was designed to be revenue neutral when compared with the current income tax structure…” He also pointed out that the Fair Tax Act includes a monthly “prebate” that will shield lower- and middle-income households from harsh tax burdens.
In the final part of the letter, Moylan affirmed that neither NTU nor its political action arm, the NTU Campaign Fund, has made (or will make) an endorsement in the Grant-Sali race. “We write in the interest of fairness and accuracy,” Moylan concluded. “We ask…that you remove this ad and no longer use our name or logo in deceptive communications to the people of Idaho.”
This is an echo of what I said last night. This ad is dishonest and the Grant campaign if they did any research at all had to know it.
Comment by Bubblehead [Member]
This differs how from Sali’s charges regarding Larry Grant’s answers on Social Security on the Vote Smart form how? And I suppose Mr. Sali’s claim that Larry opposed property tax relief, when actually Larry supported property tax relief for homeowners without increasing the sales tax, is OK? Oh, and where did Mr. Sali come up with his claim that Larry wants to remove God from money and the Pledge? I’m sure Mr. Sali could answer those questions, but he’s too busy studying Proposition 2. How is he going to be able to get through the hundreds of bills Congress has to approve each year if he can’t understand a referendum question of a few paragraphs?
Did you notice how Mr. Sali didn’t show up at the rally with Gov. Romney today? Couldn’t afford to be seen with a “non-Christian” so close to the election, I guess, or it’d upset his base.
Comment by Adam Graham [Member]
Because Larry Grant actually said in the context of the question that he wanted to raise social security taxes.
As to the property tax, when you get down to it, there was one option to actually property taxes and it wasn’t the Democratic plan (partially because they pushed this through as a partisan measure), it was the Governor’s plan. It was that opportunity to alleviate taxes particularly for people up in Northern Idaho who were concerned about that.
Mr. Grant declared “under God” in the pledge of allegiance and “in God we trust” on the money to be laws promoting religion.
I would say regarding the Romney thing, it is far more likely Mr. Sali had an engagement elsewhere previously. I’d point out he appeared with LDS member Mike Simpson at the State Convention.
Comment by Bubblehead [Member]
His web site didn’t indicate that he had any other engagements.
Comment by Adam Graham [Member]
Not everything ends up on a candidate’s schedule, but Bill Sali has appeared with a lot of LDS folks in the past and will continue to throughout the campaign I’m certain.