Capitol View®

Another conservative group goes after Pawlenty

The National Taxpayers Union criticized Gov. Pawlenty on government spending and taxes (h/t Club for Growth). Here's a snippet from the NTU's blog:

Taxes

Pawlenty's record on taxes can rightly be characterized as a disaster for Minnesotans. There have been no broad-based tax cuts in Minnesota and the largest reduction during Pawlenty's time in office is only $28.7 million.

Overall, during Pawlenty's tenure, taxes have increased $1.74 billion (with a b). Some supporters might attempt to describe these increases as merely fees, but consumers and corporations nevertheless have to pay the bill. To his credit, Pawlenty has proposed a modest $77.3 million reduction in sales taxes for FY 2009, but this is more than offset with $138.7 million in other tax and fee hikes.

Rumors are abound that Pawlenty is the front-runner for McCain's VP slot, but with over $1.7 billion in tax hikes to his name and even more on the way, McCain might think twice about choosing Pawlenty.