Mike Huckabee -A Solid Fiscal Conservative

The following statement of policy has been released by Team Huckabee. It proves conclusively that Mike Huckabee is a fiscal conservative in the Ronald Reagan mould. It clearly nails the misinformation campaign by some journalists and political opponents who have misrepresented Huckabee's record as Governor of Arkansas. Fred Thompson and Mitt Romney in particular have been highly critical of Huckabee. Fred Thompson supported Gerald Ford in 1976 and not Ronald Reagan. He supported fellow Tennessean Howard Baker in 1980 and not Ronald Reagan. Mike Huckabee supported Ronald Reagan.

“I pledge free and fair markets and believe that as a nation we can do better to encourage savings, promote capital investment and increase real wages and jobs here at home. My intermediate tax goals include reduction of corporate and personal marginal rates and elimination of the estate tax—with a long-term goal of passage of the FairTax.”
Governor Huckabee has signed Grover Norquist’s Americans for Tax Reform “no tax increase” pledge;
Governor Huckabee is a fiscal conservative who cut taxes 94 times in the state of Arkansas:
- Eliminated the capital gains tax on the sale of a home.
- Reduced the capital gains tax for businesses and individuals.
- Doubled the standard deduction and the child care credit, eliminated the marriage penalty.
- Followed Ronald Reagan’s lead by indexing the income tax to protect people from paying higher taxes because of "bracket creep."
- Cut welfare rolls by almost 50 percent.
When Governor Huckabee left office, the tax rates remained exactly the same as when he began in office 11 years previous: the tax rate was 1 percent for the poorest taxpayers and 7 percent for the richest.
He is the only presidential candidate calling for genuine permanent tax reform through the elimination of the IRS and supporting the “FairTax.”
- A plan that eliminates federal tax penalties on productivity. - Allows American businesses and manufacturers to compete on equal footing with their foreign competitors. - A progressive tax plan that allows Americans to keep their entire paycheck.
When Governor Huckabee left office last January, he had turned the $200 million state budget shortfall left by his Democrat predecessor into an $844 million surplus allowing his successor to follow Governor Huckabee’s lead to begin the elimination of the state sales tax on food.