FactCheck.org - "Under fire from conservatives, [Huckabee] misrepresents his tax hikes and cuts"

Contact: Karen Hanretty, 571-730-1010; www.Fred08.com

MC LEAN, Va., Nov. 25 /Standard Newswire/ -- "Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee has been hit with criticism over his record on taxes as governor of Arkansas. The faultfinders have been members of his own party, who take issue with tax increases he enacted. In recent interviews on Fox News, Huckabee responded to some of these questions, but we found him to be misleading and incorrect on several points:" (www.FactCheck.org, 11/21/07)

-         Huckabee frequently says he cut taxes "almost 94 times" but leaves out the 21 taxes raised during his tenure. In the end, he presided over a net tax increase.

-         Huckabee claimed a gasoline tax was only passed after 80 percent of voters approved it. Not true. The tax was enacted before a referendum vote on highway repairs.

-         Huckabee claimed that a speech in which he implored the state Legislature to raise taxes was in response to a state Supreme Court order to increase education funding. But he specifically said in that speech that he would address the education matter at a later date.

-         He said a tax on beds filled in nursing homes was a "fee" not a tax, despite the fact that he himself has called it the "bed tax."

www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/huckabees_fiscal_record.html

Average Arkansan's tax burden increased by over 47% between 1997 and 2005 (or $933 per person). (Arkansas Democrat Gazette, 10/9/07)

Both Mike Huckabee and Bill Clinton earned a "D" lifetime rating on the Cato Institute's scorecard of governors.  Huckabee received a "F" rating for his last two years in office. (www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=6724; www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=1027)

Under Huckabee, 21 tax increases went into effect, increasing tax revenue by almost $890 million. (Arkansas Democrat Gazette, 10/9/07)

Examples: sales tax, income tax, gas tax, cigarette tax, nursing home bed tax

Allowed a 17% sales tax increase to become law without his signature, the largest tax increase in state history. "A spokesman for Gov. Mike Huckabee said that, if the bill reaches his desk, the governor would allow the tax increase to become law without his signature." (Associated Press, 2/6/04)

Under Huckabee, state spending increased by over 65%, three times the rate of inflation. (Americans for Tax Reform, "Governor Huckabee's Record on Taxes," 1/7/07)