Cato’s Governor’s Report Card Earns Perry a B

Today, the Cato Institute released its report card on the fiscal policies of governors. For the full report click here, but here is what that had to say on Texas Governor Rick Perry:

Texas - Rick Perry, Republican
Legislature: Republican
Grade: B
Took Office: December 2000

Governor Perry has generally avoided tax increases during his long tenure, but he has not cut state taxes or reduced the size of state government. In 2003, he signed into law a package of tax and fee increases. In 2006, he approved a major business tax overhaul that replaced the corporate franchise tax with a modified gross receipts tax called the Texas Margin Tax. The new tax hit a much broader array of businesses and increased state-level taxes by more than $3 billion annually. The $3 billion of added state revenues was used to reduce local property taxes, but the overall effect of the package has been to centralize government power in the state and reduce beneficial tax competition among local jurisdictions. In 2009, Perry supported an increase in the exemption amount for the Margin Tax. On spending, he has presided over moderate increases in the Texas general fund budget. In 2010, he proposed an amendment to the state constitution to require a two-thirds vote in both legislative chambers to increase taxes. He has also proposed an amendment to limit increases in the state budget to no more than inflation plus population growth.

Emphasis mine. Stop voting for the man you want Rick Perry to be. Vote for Kathie Glass!