Millionaire Congressman Dennis Rehberg greets Tax Day with no fear

Millionaires, Big Business come out ahead on Tax Day thanks to a decade of giveaways from Congressman Rehberg

Helena, MT – Thousands of middle class Montanans today are scrambling to file their taxes under a code that lets big corporations and the super-rich off the hook, thanks to a decade of irresponsible giveaways from Montana’s millionaire Congressman Dennis Rehberg.

“Congressman Rehberg might be the only person in Montana who doesn’t dread Tax Day,” said Ted Dick, Executive Director of the Montana Democratic Party. “For ten years in Washington D.C., Congressman Rehberg has used his office to give himself big tax breaks and pay off his benefactors with huge giveaways. For Montana’s millionaire Congressman, Tax Day is a just another day off from his responsibility to the people of Montana.”

One of the richest members of Congress, Rehberg has voted for a number of big tax breaks for his fellow millionaires, creating a net gain for Congressman Rehberg’s bottom line.

Congressman Rehberg has also helped out the huge corporations that line his campaign pocketbook with massive subsidies. Congressman Rehberg has taken nearly $300,000 in contributions from big oil companies alone [Center for Responsive Politics, Accessed 2/28/11].

But Congressman Rehberg is against cutting taxes for 420,000 Montanans.  He voted against a bipartisan tax cut plan last December that would have resulted in tax cuts for all Americans [Helena IR, 12/16/10]

Here are just a few examples of Congressman Rehberg's decade of irresponsible giveaways to the super-rich and big corporations, while voting against hardworking Montana families:

LINING HIS OWN POCKETS:Congressman Rehberg supported a $70 billion tax cut for his fellow millionaires in 2006. In 2006, Rehberg voted in favor of a $70 billion tax cut bill. The bill extended the Bush tax breaks on capital gains and dividends for two years, but only included a one year patch for the Alternative Minimum Tax, a tax that was particularly painful for millions of middle class families. The bill passed 244-185 [HR4297, Vote #135, 5/10/06].

• The Washington Post wrote that, “This Congress and administration are putting the nation deeper and deeper in debt to benefit a sliver of the population that doesn’t need the help. Someone’s going to have to pay for these deficit-financed tax cuts eventually, and it’s likely to be your grandchildren.” [Washington Post, 5/11/06].

BIG CORPORATE GIVEAWAYS: Congressman Rehberg supported a huge corporate tax cut in 2004. In 2004, Rehberg voted in favor of legislation that cut corporate taxes by $140 billion, plus a $10 billion tobacco buyout. The legislation was originally intended to respond to a correct an export subsidy, but it included several unrelated items. Notably, it included an export tax break worth $50 billion over 10 years would be replaced with $140 billion in new corporate tax cuts plus the $10 billion tobacco buyout. The new offerings included $68 million in tax breaks for ship operators, $28 million for importers of ceiling fans and extra depreciation write-offs for small corporate jets. Tax breaks for arrows, fishing tackle boxes and distilled spirits were also included [CQ Today, 6/17/04]. The bill passed 251-178 [HR 4520, Vote #259, 6/17/04].

PAYING OFF BIG OIL: Congressman Rehberg opposed ending giveaways for Big Oil in 2006. In 2006, Rehberg voted against a Democratic motion to end special perks for big oil companies. The bill instructed House conferees to 1) accept three bipartisan provisions from the Senate that would remove subsidies and close loopholes for large integrated oil companies, so that big oil companies would pay their fair share of taxes and 2) strike the extension of the capital gains and dividend tax cuts. In 2005, the top five oil companies reaped more than $100 million, three times their profits in 2002. Democrats offered an identical motion one week prior that also failed. [Leadership Doc, “Republicans Fight For Big Oil Subsidies and Loopholes,” 4/26/06] The motion failed 197-224 [HR4297, Vote #121, 5/03/06].