Elected Officials Doherty, Kean, Peterson and Munoz; Taxpayer Advocates Join 7th District Lawmaker In Opposition To Call For Higher Taxes

WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman Leonard Lance (NJ-7) held events on Monday April 18 in Flemington and Westfield to protest calls for higher taxes. Joining Lance was New Jersey State Senators Michael Doherty and Tom Kean, State Assemblymen Erik Peterson and Nancy Munoz as well as taxpayers advocates and concerned citizens.

“I believe our nation is already overtaxed. The problem is not that the government taxes too little, it's that we spend too much,” Lance said on the steps of the historic Hunterdon County courthouse in Flemington. “Rather than focusing on Washington’s over-spending problem, the President is calling for higher taxes on New Jersey’s families and small businesses to pay for even more  government spending.”

New Jersey State Senator Michael Doherty issued the following statement praising Lance for his calls for lower taxes: “Congressman Lance has a long standing record of being a champion of fiscal responsibility and I am proud to support his efforts in opposing President Obama’s call for higher taxes.”

Some tax and spending facts:

 • The nation faces a budget deficit this year of $1.65 trillion and a national debt of $14.2 trillion.

 • Since President Obama took office, federal spending has increased by nearly 24 percent. The government now borrows 42 cents on every dollar it spends.

 • Over the past four years the government has added a record $5.4 trillion to the national debt - more than 41 presidents created over 200 years. Each taxpayer now owes more than $128,000 for our national debt. 

• Under the Obama budget, tax revenues will grow from 14.4% of gross domestic produce in 2011 to 20% of GDP in 2021.

 • The U.S. Treasury will receive something just north of $2 trillion in taxes and other revenues this year, while the government is projected to spend nearly about $3.5 trillion. The estimated $1.4 trillion shortfall will have to be borrowed.

“Increasing taxes on America’s job creators would be devastating to our economy and would stifle our rate of job growth, which is already painfully slow. The President must understand — in order to prevent the burden of our nation’s fiscal crisis from being passed on to job creators and America’s workforce — the solution to our nation’s fiscal woes is not more taxation, it’s less spending,” Lance concluded.