Montana’s Congressman, Denny Rehberg, cosponsored The Taxpayer Certainty Act. This legislation would make permanent the tax relief passed in 2001 and 2003, which would prevent the largest tax increase in American history. “Raising taxes during an economic crisis is like looting a burning house,” said Rehberg, a member of the House Liberty Caucus. “I’ve heard from countless Montana small business owners who could create new jobs, but instead are paralyzed by the uncertainty of new regulations combined with a higher tax liability in the future by preserving this tax relief, we can create the economic stability that promotes job growth.”
On Tax Day, April 15, Rehberg pointed out that. “While our economy is struggling to recover and our nation is bleeding jobs, higher taxes are making the problem even worse. Since January of 2009 Congress has increased taxes by $670 billion which is more than $2,100 for each man, woman and child in America. Now is the time to cut taxes to empower consumers and small businesses, but instead Congress has done just the opposite. It’s no wonder that unemployment has skyrocketed to around ten percent and has not shown any signs of declining.”
Denny also criticized the decision by the Bureau of Land Management to suspend 61 Montana oil and gas leases issued in 2008. An economic analysis by Montana State University Billings concluded that oil and gas development has a total impact of more than $8.6 billion in Montana and supports more than 12,000 Montana jobs. Denny said, ““Unfortunately, as is too often the case, our engines of economic growth are stalled by an alliance between powerful environmental special interest groups who file limitless lawsuits and Washington, D.C. bureaucrats. The longer we wait to start producing our own energy, the longer we’ll be reliant on foreign sources. This is yet another attack on good-paying jobs in the West.”
