Grover Norquist on C-Span explains nuances of The Pledge

Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform, appeared on C-Span today and further clarified his position on the current debt negotiations in Washington. While he maintained his adamant “no tax increases” position, he strove to highlight the words of the pledge he asks lawmakers to take and presented the nuances of its second point.


The Pledge reads: I pledge to the taxpayers of the state of _____and to the American people that I will: ONE, oppose any and all efforts to increase the marginal income tax rates for individuals and/or businesses; and TWO, oppose any net reduction or elimination of deductions and credits, unless matched dollar for dollar by further reducing tax rates.


Norquist has come under attack recently for his opposition to ending the ethanol subsidies because he believes it would constitute a tax increase. However, the pledge states that deductions and credits can be removed (presumably in an effort to make the tax code more efficient); but these increases must be offset dollar for dollar by reducing rates. Norquist iterated this position today and said he would not oppose making the code efficient as long as there were cuts. To some degree he has been misrepresented in the media in the past in regards to this position.