Huckabee's problems with fiscal conservatives have been well documented. By now, everyone knows about his career grade of a “D” from the
CATO Institute (the same grade another former Arkansas Governor received… Bill Clinton), and most know about his problems with the Club for Growth. So, has Huckabee just been given the short end of the stick?
21 tax increases went into effect, increasing tax revenue by almost $890 million under Governor Huckabee. These increases include the income tax, the sales tax, a cigarette tax, and a gas tax. Not only did he raise taxes,
spending “more than doubled under Huckabee. “During Huckabee’s 10 years as governor, state spending more than doubled, from $6.6 billion to $16.1 billion in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2006.”
Fact: the average Arkansan’s tax burden grew from $ 1, 969 in the fiscal year that ended June 30, 1997, to $ 2, 902 in the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2005, including local taxes.
The Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration confirms 90 tax cuts from 1997-2005. All but one required an act of the Legislature. Many were strongly backed by legislators and owe little to the governor’s efforts. The 90 cuts reduced tax collections by $ 378 million, according to the Department of Finance and Administration. Meanwhile, the department counts 21 tax increases that raised collections by $ 883.1 million. Here are a few of the tax cuts, along with the department’s estimate of their impact in the following fiscal year 1997
• Authorized tax-exempt bonds for fi re-ant abatement (- $ 100, 000 )
• Exempted residential lawn care from the sales tax (- $ 210, 000 )
• Exempted Heifer International from the sales tax (- $ 60, 000 )
• Exempted some county fairs from the special-events sales tax (- $ 15, 000 ) 1999
• Exempted equipment used to produce sod, grass and nursery products from the sales tax (- $ 200, 000 )
• Repealed the 20 percent tax on bingo admissions and cards (- $ 200, 000 ) 2001
• Reduced taxes on bets made on horse races at Oaklawn Park (- $ 1, 700, 000 )
• Reduced taxes on bets made at Southland Greyhound Park (- $ 600, 000 ) 2003
• Exempted some health-club services from the sales tax (- $ 160, 000 )
• Gave income-tax credits to biodiesel wholesalers (- $ 200, 000 ) 2005
• Granted an income-tax deduction for organ donation (- $ 76, 000 )
• Exempted Arkansas Symphony Orchestra purchases from the sales tax (- $ 20, 530 )
SOURCES: Department of Finance and Administration
FACT: a review of tax legislation passed while he was governor shows a net tax increase of $ 505 million, a figure adjusted for inflation and economic growth, according to the state Department of Finance and Administration.
FACT: Huckabee shepherded through the Legislature one of the largest tax cuts in Arkansas history — a 1997 income-tax reduction totaling about $ 90. 6 million its first full year in effect. But most of the 89 other cuts Huckabee mentions are much smaller. A 1997 sales-tax break for some manufacturing machinery reduced tax collections by just $ 500 a year, for example. Some were narrowly targeted, such as a tax exemption for purchases by the Salvation Army, which reduced tax collections by $ 15, 000 a year. (Northwest Arkansas News)
The Arkansas Leader publishes a comprehensive list of tax hikes by Mike, as compared to Clinton:
• Imposed an income tax surcharge of 3 percent on tax liabilities of individuals and domestic and foreign corporations (Act 38, 1st special session of 2003). (It was temporary until revenues improved. The legislature repealed it in 2005.)
• Increased the sales tax by 1/8 of one percent by initiated act (but it was a personal campaign by Huckabee, who campaigned across the state for it and took a celebrated bass boat trip for 4 days down the Arkansas River holding press conferences in each river city to urge passage of the act)
• Increased the sales tax by one-half of 1 percent (Act 1492 of 1999)
• Increased the sales tax by 7/8ths of 1 percent and expand the sales tax to many services previously exempt from the tax (Act 107, 2nd special session of 2003)
• Collected a 2 percent tax on chewing tobacco, cigars, package tobacco, cigarette papers and snuff (Act 434 of 1997)
• Levied an additional excise tax of 7 percent on tobacco (Act 38 of 1st special session of 2003)
• Increased the tax on cigarette and tobacco permits (Act 1337 of 1997)
• Increased the tax on cigarette and tobacco – cigarettes by $1.25 per thousand cigarettes and 2 percent of the manufacturers’ selling price on tobacco products (Act 434 of 1997)
• Increased the tax on cigarettes by 25 cents a pack (Act 38, 1st special session of 2003)
• Levied a 3 percent excise tax on all retail sales of beer (Act 1841 of 2001 and extended by Act 272 of 2003 and Act 2188 of 2005)
• Revived the 4 percent mixed drink tax of 1989 and added a 4 percent tax on private clubs (Act 1274 of 2005)
• Increased the tax on gasoline by 3 cents a gallon (Act 1028 of 1999)
• Increased the tax on diesel by 4 cents a gallon (Act 1028 of 1999) Note: Contrary to what Huckabee has said repeatedly in debates, speeches and TV shows, the 1999 gasoline and diesel taxes were not submitted to the voters and approved by 80 per cent of them. It was never submitted to a vote. It was the governor’s bill and it became law without a vote of the people. What the voters did approve in 1999 was a bond issue for interstate highway reconstruction but it did not involve a tax increase. Existing taxes and federal receipts were pledged to retire the bonds.
• Increased the driver’s license by $6 a person, from $14 to $20 (Act 1500 of 2001)
Immigration:
In 2005, Huckabee was quite vocal in his opposition to strengthen citizen verification procedures for employers and voting and cut off public assistance to illegal immigrants. He even went as far as describing the plan as “race baiting.” Huckabee said “Companies controlled by overseas corporations could feel they are unwanted in Arkansas if the Legislature approves an immigration measure now before it.” He described it as “inflammatory, race-baiting… demagoguery.” The bill forbade public assistance and voting rights to illegal immigrants. The Governor also went as far as to say, “(The Bill) inflames those who are racist and bigots and makes them think there’s a real problem… But there’s not.”
From CBS News:
-"Huckabee's recent strong stand on immigration, including an intolerance toward companies that employ illegal immigrants, runs counter to the image he crafted in his final years in office. He was battling conservatives within his own party who were pushing for stricter state-level immigration measures.
Huckabee opposed a Republican lawmaker's efforts in 2005 to require proof of legal status when applying for state services that aren't federally mandated and proof of citizenship when registering to vote. Huckabee derided the bill as un-American and un-Christian and said the bill's sponsor drank a different 'Jesus juice.' "
Roy Beck, the head of NumbersUSA and one of the leading advocates that helped defeat the McCain/Kennedy Immigration bill, on Huckabee:
"He was an absolute disaster on immigration as governor. Every time there was any enforcement in his state, he took the side of the illegal aliens."
Peter Gadiel, president of 9-11 Families for a Secure America, on Mike Huckabee:
"Huckabee is the guy who scares the heck out of me."
Steven A. Camarota, research director for the Center for Immigration Studies, on Mike Huckabee:
"I would say that Huckabee comes from the same perspective on the issue that George W. Bush came from — that out of a strong sense of compassion, he tries to identify with someone who comes to the United States, even if they came illegally."
James J. Boulet Jr., executive director of English First, on Mike Huckabee:
"Huckabee's worse than Hillary Clinton... When you call someone a racist, what you're saying is, don't listen to that bad man -- you're not engaging the argument, and the argument is there. I don't see anywhere in the Bible where it says the way God wants us to help the poor is to lobby for the government to spend money on them... Mike Huckabee could very easily be the vice-presidential nominee. He is actually worse than Giuliani on illegal immigration. Huckabee has swallowed the Kool-Aid completely."
Huckabee on the Bush Immigration Plan before it became the unpopular thing to support:
Huckabee said his faith leads him to take positions on issues -- like immigration -- that "tend to be a little unconventional." On immigration, Huckabee aligns himself with President Bush rather than more conservative elements of the Republican Party, favoring a "pathway to citizenship" for those who at one time entered the United States illegally.
*As a disclosure I did not write this. I got it from RedState here.
The American Spectator is saying what we all assumed. Huckleberry is broke and his staff is walking.
