INDIANAPOLIS —
The intra-party fight over Republican Gov. Mike Pence’s controversial tax cut proposal is escalating.
At a press conference at the Statehouse Thursday, a conservative tea-party organization founded by the billionaire Koch brothers announced it was pouring money into a statewide campaign to pressure Republican lawmakers into giving Pence what he wants: a 10 percent cut in the state income tax rate.
Chase Downham, state director for Americans for Prosperity, said his organization will spend a “six-figure” amount on TV, radio and online ad buys in an attempt to get voters to turn up the heat on GOP legislators who’ve rejected the Pence plan.
“We believe this tax cut is absolutely critical,” Downham said.
The organization, founded and funded by Charles and David Koch, has spent millions of dollars trying to defeat Democrat candidates; it will now be spending its money going after the Republicans who control the Indiana General Assembly.
Republican House Speaker Brian Bosma defended the House budget bill that rejects Pence’s proposed cut, which would cost the state about $500 million in revenues each year. The House plan, crafted by GOP legislators, instead spends that money on schools and road repairs.
Bosma, who’s been an ally of Americans for Prosperity in the past, said he wouldn’t be pressured into backing off what he sees as critical investments for the state’s long-term economic health.
“You’re looking at a guy who’s had death threats, people camped on my front door…” Bosma said, referring to a past fight over the contentious “right to work” bill passed last year. “So my focus will be on making the right decisions for the State of Indiana.”
Bosma said he and Senate leaders are still open to considering the tax cut if the state’s revenue forecast, due in April, projects significantly more revenues. But he also took a veiled dig at Pence, who made the tax cut his signature campaign promise last year without consulting Republican legislative leaders.
“We’ve said many times here, our goal is to do the right thing for the citizens of the state,” Bosma said. “It’s easy to bang a ‘Hey, let’s cut taxes’ drum. But you’ve got to be sure it’s a smart cut, it’s sustainable in the long run, not (just) in an election cycle. That’s our goal.”
The announcement by the Americans for Prosperity came as the Senate appropriations committee started hearings on the House budget bill. Senate leaders, like their GOP counterparts in the House, have expressed little support for the Pence tax cut.
Pence has taken a similar approach as the AFP. Since failing to lock down the legislative support he needs for the tax cut, he’s taken his pitch on the road to urge voters to pressure their legislators to support his plan.
In a speech to the Vigo County Chamber of Commerce Thursday, Pence stuck tightly to an oft-repeated script that paints the tax cut as a job creator and economic development tool. Pence argued the state, which has a $2 billion surplus, can afford the tax cut.
“First and foremost, I don’t think government should ever collect more money than it needs to operate,” Pence said. “And when it is set to collect more than it needs, it ought to find ways to permanently reduce the tax burden.”
The tug-of-war between Pence and GOP legislative leaders has been escalating in recent weeks. As Pence has tried to work around them, they’ve pushed back.
Bosma recently sent a letter to GOP county chairmen, saying neither he nor Senate President David Long are convinced the tax cut is sustainable. In it, Bosma describes the property and income tax cuts enacted after Indiana built a $2 billion surplus in 1998 led to a $1.3 billion deficit six years later, resulting in “painful and difficult” budget cuts.
Maureen Hayden covers the Statehouse for the CNHI newspapers in Indiana. She can be reached at maureen.hayden@indianamediagroup.com.
Local News
Related Photos
-
Indiana governor Mike Pence is greeted by Terre Haute Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Ken Brengle at the Idle Creek Banquet Center Thursday afternoon. Jim Avelis
Discussion
Tea party group to launch campaign to support Pence tax cut
- Local News
-
-
Liberty juniors learn lessons beyond the classroom
Returning from a mission trip to St. Louis a couple of weeks ago, the Liberty Christian School juniors have tales to tell of lessons learned.
-
Diapers rather than helmets
You hear the word derby and you may think of kids in soap box cars racing down a steep hill. But for Sunday’s Baby Derby at Applewood’s Pay Less Super Market, helmets were replaced by diapers as tiny humans crawled their way to victory.
-
City lawn workers begin spring cleaning
Despite rainy weather conditions, the Anderson city mow crew, a second-year service group of 12 temporary workers hired to upkeep the city, began working mid-April.
-
Arrest Log: May 20
Arrests made by Madison County law enforcement on Friday and Saturday, based on Madison County Jail records. Charges are recommended by arresting officers, but are not final until the Madison County prosecutor reviews the case and files official charges.
-
EMA: Possibility of earthquake not as rare as perceived
We’re in Central Indiana, so the possibility of a major earthquake ravaging the area is pretty remote, right? It might not be as unlikely as you think.
-
Warmest day of the week
Partly cloudy skies stick around today with temperatures in the upper 80s.
-
Poll question for Monday, May 20
Vote daily in The Herald Bulletin poll. Today's poll question can be found at the bottom of the homepage on the right side.
-
Anderson Powerball players tend to go for the big payouts
Someone in Florida has the winning numbers to the highest Powerball jackpot in history — a whopping estimated $590.5 million. But before those numbers were drawn Saturday, multiple people right here in Anderson gave it a go. On Sunday, The Herald Bulletin stopped by Mounds Mall to interview several Powerball players.
-
Study reflects local hospital costs on par
It’s hard to say what’s worse — being hospitalized, or the bill that follows.
But in some places, that bill might be a bigger hit than others: Say, Monterey Park, Calif., for example, where an inpatient being treated for heart failure could expect to pay about twice the average between Madison County’s Community Hospital Anderson and St. Vincent Anderson Regional. -
What's Where: May 20
Local meetings and activities are scheduled Monday.
- More Local News Headlines
-
