#MTGov Daily Rundown: Billings Gazette Editorial Slams Bullock and Dems Over False Sales Tax Claims

Calling it a "move that reeks of desperation" the Billings Gazette editorial board slammed Governor Steve Bullock and the Montana Democratic Party today for falsely claiming that Greg Gianforte supports a sales tax.

"It seems like they're trying to make something out of absolutely nothing when it comes to Republican governor candidate Greg Gianforte and sales tax. When we say they're making something out of nothing, we mean it literally. They're trying to make zero mean something." -Billings Gazette, 10/12/2016

The editorial notes that Gianforte has repeatedly said that he opposes a statewide sales tax, and that the zero in his "406 Tax Relief Plan" literally stands for zero sales tax.

"This tactic by the Democrats is at best ham-handed and at worst, completely misleading. While it is true that Gianforte did testify that he favored a state sales tax in place of two other state taxes, he has repeatedly said he does not favor sales taxes now." -Billings Gazette, 10/12/2016 

"When he was before The Billings Gazette editorial board, he made no bones about opposing a statewide sales tax. In Gianforte's "406" tax plan in which he outlines his suggestions, the zero stands for new taxes, especially no new sales tax." -Billings Gazette, 10/12/2016

Bringing up the governor's recent call for a constitutional amendment to ban a statewide sales tax, the Gazette editorial board also calls the governor's proposal "equally lame" and a meaningless publicity stunt.

"In many ways, this is a ploy to contrast an equally lame effort by Gov. Steve Bullock who proposed a constitutional initiative to ban a statewide sales tax." -Billings Gazette, 10/12/2016

"The irony, of course, is that this is one area where both Gianforte and Bullock agree, making the current governor's little constitutional amendment publicity stunt meaningless." -Billings Gazette, 10/12/2016

The Gazette editorial board is not the first media source to criticize Bullock for his misleading sales tax claims. MTPR's "Campaign Beat" also pointed out last Friday that Gianforte is opposed to a sales tax.

"'All this even though no one is currently proposing such a tax, least of all Greg Gianforte,' Mauk notes.

'Gianforte has been very clear in this campaign that he doesn't support a sales tax,' Saldin says. 'It's actually been a prominent feature of his campaign from day one to keep the sales tax at zero.'" -MTPR, 10/7/2016

Bullock's Sales Tax stunt is really just an attempt to cover up Bullock's failed record on providing tax relief.

Running for re-election, Governor Steve Bullock continues to insist that Montana's tax system is fair and that Montanans don't need tax relief. He also claims that tax relief would be too costly to the state. However, in 2012, Bullock promised tax relief, and then failed to deliver on that promise.

"Attorney General Steve Bullock, the Democratic nominee for governor, on Monday proposed giving one-time property tax rebates of $400 apiece to Montana homeowners by taking $100 million from the state’s general fund surplus." -Billings Gazette, 6/11/2016

Inheriting a strong state fiscal situation, Bullock claimed, then, that it was time for the state to return money to taxpayers.

"In his first proposal since winning the Democratic nomination last week, Bullock borrowed a page out of Democratic Gov. Brian Schweitzer’s playbook. Schweitzer successfully steered $400-per-homeowner rebates through the Legislature in 2007." -Billings Gazette, 6/11/2016

However, once in office, Bullock not only failed to deliver on his proposal he has also continued to veto tax relief bills, insisting that tax relief simply means "tax cuts for millionaires," even though 63% of Montana taxpayers pay the highest income tax rate.

Governor Steve Bullock vetoed three tax relief bills in 2015 alone.

“The state House and Senate GOP caucuses touted tax cuts as a high priority for the 2015 session, but every major tax initiative that was passed out of the Republican-controlled Legislature has been vetoed by Gov. Steve Bullock. Bullock shot down the last of three principal tax proposals from Republicans on Monday. The other two vetoes came earlier this year on proposals to cut income taxes by 0.1 percent to 0.2 percent for every bracket.” -Associated Press 5/7/2016