Who Raised Taxes More - Bill Clinton or Mike Huckabee?
Which Arkansas Governor raised the most taxes, Bill Clinton or Mike Huckabee? According to The Arkansas Leader, the answer will surprise you. It wasn’t our former Democratic President Bill Clinton.
Ernie Dumas writes: Mike Huckabee raised more taxes in 10 years in office than Bill Clinton did in his 12 years.
Huckabee tax increases
- 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 The legislature repealed it in 2005.)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)
December 4th, 2007 at 11:59 am
[...] wrong. So we started checking out this record and learned that he’s got some real baggage on fiscal and immigration policies. And although he seems squeaky clean, he’s had some major ethics [...]
February 15th, 2008 at 5:13 am
[...] have nearly as many obvious black marks on his record as Clinton. However, Mr. Huckabee apparently raised taxes more than Clinton. He is a former baptist minister, which to some is a good thing, but in my book, that is NOT [...]