“People are supporting me
because I have a proven record of conservative leadership where I cut taxes $19
billion over eight years.”
Not True using creative math. be
Excerpts from Washington Post
— Former Florida governor Jeb
Bush (R), GOP debate on CNN, Sept. 16, 2015
“I know that enacting these policies works
because I’ve done it before. As governor of Florida, I cut taxes every single
year—returning a total of $19 billion to Floridians.”
“I cut taxes every year, totaling $19 billion.”
— GOP debate on FOX, Aug. 6,
2015
This is one of Bush’s
favorite claims about his record cutting taxes as governor of Florida. We wrote
about it briefly during our live
fact-check of the first GOP debate. But there is more to unpack
about this figure, and he continues to use it on the campaign trail. So Fact
Checker dug further.
When Martin A. Sullivan, chief economist at Tax
Analysts, calculated revenue changes without the estate tax credit and in
nominal dollars, he arrived at a lower figure: a $13.04 billion reduction.
The largest
portion of Bush’s claimed tax savings came from the “intangible tax,” levied on
assets like stocks and bonds. As PolitiFact Florida pointed out,
that calls into question who exactly the cuts benefited — the average person,
or the rich.
Bush
repeatedly says that he cut $19 billion in taxes. But the figure he uses is
cumulative state revenue changes as a result of state and federal decisions,
adjusted into 2007 dollars. (Economists say it’s fair to use 2007 dollars.) The
majority of the figure represents revenue changes from tax and non-tax
legislative actions during his tenure as governor. He then adds revenues the
state would have received if the federal estate tax credit had not been phased
out. His campaign says he should get credit for not fighting the repeal like
other states did. But Bush did not enact this cut in state tax revenues.
We wavered between Two and
Three Pinocchios. By saying “I cut taxes” he suggests he played an active role
in reducing the $19 billion in state revenues. Yet in reality, he decided not
to do anything to fight the repeal. He is saying that by doing nothing (i.e.,
not fighting the repeal), he did something (i.e., cut taxes). His taking
sole credit for all $19 billion tipped the rating to Three. Read
Full Explanation at Washington Post
