Politics & Government

Lance, Tea Party Call for Tax Decreases

Congressman joined by Kean, Bramnick and Munoz during Tax Day press conference in Westfield.

Standing alongside Tea Party activists and state and local officials, U.S. Rep. Leonard Lance (R-Hunterdon County) spoke in favor of Republican tax and budget plans during a tax day press conference Monday morning.

Lance, speaking in front of the Westfield Post Office, used the filing day for federal and state income taxes to outline plans to reduce a reliance on foreign debt, along with calling for tax decreases. The second term Republican said President Obama’s budget proposal does not go far enough in cutting taxes and changing the nation’s fiscal culture.

“Today many Americans and small businesses will file their income taxes,” Lance said. “This day remind us that we trust our elected officials to use those tax revenues responsibly.”

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Lance endorsed tax and budget plans put forward by House Republicans, including plans introduced by House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), which call for deep spending cuts. Lance spoke out against Obama’s budget, saying it calls for increased taxes, which he said will hurt economic recovery.

Lance said the president’s proposal would raise capital gains and dividend taxes, along with the estate tax and bank, corporate and energy taxes. He said the proposal would place an increased tax burden on small businesses.

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“Increasing taxes on America’s job creators will be devastating to our economy,” he said.

Lance reiterated , when he made small business policy a centerpiece of his reelection campaign. He noted that statistics have shown that seven out of ten jobs are created by small businesses.

“From my perspective it is unfortunate that the president’s proposal is to increase taxes by one and one half trillion dollars,” he said.

Lance endorsed removing the , saying the federal government needs to move away from the practice. He cited comments from Joint Chiefs Chairman Admiral Michael Mullen, calling foreign debt a national security crisis.

Lance was joined at the press conference by Scotch Plains-Fanwood Tea Party founder Al Smith, Senate Minority Leader Tom Kean Jr. (R-Westfield), Assemblymembers Jon Bramnick (R-Westfield) and Nancy Munoz (R-Summit), Jim Coyle from the Gateway Chamber of Commerce, Mountainside Councilman Glenn Mortimer and Westfield Councilman Keith Loughlin.

Smith spoke briefly, endorsing Lance’s fiscal plans.

“He is one of the people who has been out there fighting for, to balance the budget,” Smith said. “We ask him to hold the line, oppose tax increases and cut the spending back to what Americans can afford. We are here today to support him in that effort.”

Lance, known for being a moderate Republican, said Smith’s presence was not due to the fact that he faced several Tea Party aligned challengers in the 2010 Republican congressional primary. He called Smith a friend and said that the two agree on fiscal issues.

“I agree consistently with the Tea Party that we have to get our fiscal house in order,” Lance said.

Lance further described the issues as “bipartisan or non-partisan” and said he did not specifically seek out Tea Party backing on the issue. Lance Smith's group earlier this year.

Lance said he would like to see Congress work with Obama to address budget increases for mandatory spending programs in the president’s current budget proposals and for future years. He said he would want the increases to match the rate of inflation, instead of rising at higher levels. Among these are addressing the potential bankruptcy of the Medicaid program.

Lance said he would want the mandatory spending increases addressed before Congress addresses cuts to other federal spending programs during budget negotiations.

Lance has active on fiscal issues for his entire career, including service as a top Republican budget negotiator during service in both houses of the State Legislature. Bramnick touched briefly on Lance’s past service, noting that Lance has been addressing tax and debt issues. This includes Lance’s authorship of an amendment to the state constitution calling for voter approval to future state borrowing, an issue lance made a centerpiece of his 2010 campaign.

The state legislators focused their remarks primarily on state tax issues, with Kean laying blame for the state economy at the foot of state Democrats, saying the party consistently approved tax hikes during eight years of controlling the governorship. Without mentioning Gov. Chris Christie by name, Kean, a close Christie ally, reiterated support for the governor’s fiscal plan.

Munoz, who noted she would be going to the bank following the press conference to transfer funds to pay her own taxes, reiterated one of Lance’s calls from the federal government as the issue with the state government.

“We don’t have a revenue problem, we have a spending problem,” she said.

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