When Is A Tax Hike Not A Tax Hike? When Grover Norquist Says So

Grover Norquist seems to be engaging in some doublespeak in order to claim that his precious tax pledge won’t be violated by a resolution of the Fiscal Cliff that includes raising tax rates on high income earners:

Grover Norquist on Monday expressed confidence that any last-minute fiscal cliff deal would not hike tax rates.

“I’m working with all the folks who are trying to defend taxpayers here in Congress,” he said on CNN’s “Starting Point.” “I don’t think you’re going to see something that actually raises taxes. We may get some tax cuts now and have to fight for others later.”

Norquist’s comments come hours before the deadline for an agreement hits, after congressional leaders failed to hammer out a deal over the weekend.

So tax rates will be going up but it won’t really be a rise in tax rates? How does that go again?

FILED UNDER: Congress, Deficit and Debt, Taxes, US Politics, , , ,
Doug Mataconis
About Doug Mataconis
Doug Mataconis held a B.A. in Political Science from Rutgers University and J.D. from George Mason University School of Law. He joined the staff of OTB in May 2010 and contributed a staggering 16,483 posts before his retirement in January 2020. He passed far too young in July 2021.

Comments

  1. OzarkHillbilly says:

    So tax rates will be going up but it won’t really be a rise in tax rates? How does that go again?

    Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts. Unless your name is Norquist.

  2. Jeremy R says:

    Hate to say it, but I agree with Norquist on this one. What the Democrats have been proposing is a massive, multi-trillion dollar tax cut on everyone’s first 250K of income. The currently legislated baseline makes that so.

    Sure, Norquist’s still a massive hypocrite since he hasn’t consistently presented it that way though.

  3. Geek, Esq. says:

    Norquist is actually telling the truth now. Problem is that he was lying his rear end off previously..

  4. James Joyner says:

    @Geek, Esq.:

    Norquist is actually telling the truth now. Problem is that he was lying his rear end off previously..

    Pretty much, although I can preach it either way. From the perspective of the taxpayer, we’re going to have a tax hike come January 1. From the perspective of the law, taxes revert to normal with the expiration of a temporary break.

  5. David says:

    Maybe Grover has come to terms with the reality of the situation, and that compromise will be called on to resolve the “fiscal cliff” issue. I’m sure this is just the beginning of a congress that actually understands that governing requires compromise. Yeah, I don’t believe it either.

  6. grumpy realist says:

    I think the sniggering from the peanut gallery just reached gale proportion….