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Beto O’Rourke Wants to Raise Taxes

O’Rourke Wants To Increase Corporate And Capital Gains Taxes. JOHN HARWOOD: “What sounds right to you?” BETO O’ROURKE: “I think you at a minimum roll back the worst elements of the Trump tax cuts. So the top marginal tax rate back up to 39%. If you were to do that, and in addition make some other structural changes to our tax code — the corporate tax rate, which was brought down from 35% to 21%, bring that back up to 28% — great place to start. And as you probably know, you generate hundreds of billions of dollars over the next 10 years. If you were to tax capital at the same rate that you tax ordinary wage income, like the waiters who are working here, you also get to some greater structural correction to a very unequal economy, and you generate the revenue necessary.” (John Harwood, “Beto O’Rourke Begins Filling In The Blanks On The Economy, Taxes And Entitlements,” CNBC, 7/5/19)

O’Rourke Supports Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s Proposed Wealth Tax, Which Would Levy A Tax On Assets Independent Of Income. “Democratic presidential hopeful and former Congressman Beto O’Rourke said he would support taxing the wealth of the country’s super-rich following a campaign stop in South Carolina on Friday, embracing a proposal first unveiled by fellow presidential candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.). … Warren’s proposal would levy a 2 percent tax on assets over $50 million and a 3 percent tax on assets over $1 billion, part of an ambitious slate of policy ideas she has proposed to curb economic inequality.” (Igor Bobic, “Beto O’Rourke Says He Supports A Wealth Tax,” Huffington Post, 3/22/19)

In 2018 O’Rourke Voted Against H.J.R. 2. (H.J.R. 2, Motion To Suspend The Rules And Pass, U.S. House Of Representatives, 233-185-11, 4/12/18, O’Rourke Voted Nay)

  • H.J.R. 2: “Proposing A Balanced Budget Amendment To The Constitution Of The United States.” (H.J.R. 2, U.S. House Of Representatives, Filed 1/3/17)

In 2015 O’Rourke Voted Against H.R. 1105, The “Death Tax Repeal Act.” (H.R. 1105, On Passage, U.S. House Of Representatives, 240-179-12, 4/16/15, O’Rourke Voted Nay)

In 2014 O’Rourke Voted Against H.R. 4935. (H.R. 4935, On Passage, U.S. House Of Representatives, 237-173-22, 7/25/14, O’Rourke Voted Nay)

  • H.R. 4925 Increased The Child Tax Credit And Thresholds For Phasing Out The Credit. “H.R. 4935 would increase the amount of the child tax credit and the income thresholds at which the credit begins to phase out for taxpayers.” (“H.R. 4935, Child Tax Credit Improvement Act Of 2014,” Congressional Budget Office, 7/3/14)

O’Rourke Wants To Raises Taxes On Oil And Gas Producers. “Beto O’Rourke released a proposal Monday outlining his plan to slash carbon emissions and finally wean the United States off of fossil fuels. … The $5 trillion proposal would be catalyzed by an initial $1.5 trillion investment, which his campaign says would be funded by ‘structural changes to the tax code’ that end corporate tax breaks for fossil fuels and other industries.” (Kate Wheeling, “Can Ending Fossil Fuel Subsidies Pay For Beto O’Rourke’s Climate Plan?,” Pacific Standard, 4/30/19)

O’Rourke Wants To Eliminate The Tax-Exempt Status For Churches That Oppose Same-Sex Marriage. LEMON: “Do you think religious institutions — like colleges, churches, charities — should lose their tax-exempt status if they oppose same-sex marriage?” O’ROURKE: “Yes. There can be no reward, no benefit, no tax break, for anyone or any institution, any organization in America, that denies the full human rights and the full civil rights of every single one of us, and so as president, we are going to make that a priority and we are going to stop those who are infringing upon the human rights of our fellow Americans.” (Patrick Svitek, “Beto O’Rourke Says Religious Institutions Should Lose Tax-Exempt Status If They Oppose Gay Marriage,” Texas Tribune, 10/11/19)

Governor Abbott will LOWER taxes for all Texans

  • Governor Greg Abbott is running for re-election to DELIVER substantial & lasting property tax cuts for all Texans. His Taxpayer Bill of Rights will reduce school property taxes, empower taxpayers to reduce their property taxes, and provide property tax relief for small businesses.
  • Governor Abbott championed a constitutional amendment to ban state income tax in Texas, which passed with 76% of the vote in 2019. (KGNS)
  • Governor Abbott cut property taxes by $18 BILLION.
  • In June 2019, Governor Abbott signed sweeping property tax reforms into law. (OOG Release)
    • The law lowers the property tax rollback rate to 3.5% for cities and counties. Any increase to this rollback rate in cities, counties, and some special districts will require voter approval and automatically trigger a tax ratification election.
    • It also requires taxing units to post their budgets, tax rates, and tax rate calculation worksheets online.
    • It also makes numerous improvements to the appraisal and protest process, such as prohibiting an Appraisal Review Board (ARB) from increasing the value of a taxpayer property above its initial value, increasing training requirements for ARB members and arbitrators, and entitling taxpayers to the evidence the appraisal district plans to present at their ARB hearing free of charge.
  • Championed a constitutional amendment that increased the homestead exemption from $25,000 to $40,000. (Texas Tribune)