Chagrin Falls, OH – Republican U.S. Senate candidate Matt Dolan released the following statement this evening in response to an Associated Press report that U.S. Senate candidate Mike Gibbons said that middle-class Americans do not pay “any kind of a fair share” of income taxes:
“From the gas tank to the grocery aisle, Ohioans are enduring skyrocketing prices due to Joe Biden’s reckless tax and spend policies. Now Mike Gibbons admits he wants to increase taxes on middle-class families. His stance is extreme, out of touch, and disqualifying in the Ohio Senate primary.
“In the State Legislature, I drafted, passed and implemented an across-the-board income tax cut in Ohio, including for middle-class families. I also reduced the number of tax brackets to save Ohio workers and businesses time and money. I didn’t work to cut taxes for Ohio residents so Mike Gibbons can jack them up in Washington, D.C.
“Mike Gibbons just doesn’t get it. Ohioans are already paying their fair share as they contend with record inflation under Biden. My pledge is that I will not raise middle-class taxes one penny in the Senate. Instead I will fight for Ohio taxpayers so they can keep more of the money they have earned.”
Background:
In the fall of 2021, Gibbons said, “[t]he top 20% of earners in the United States pay 82% of federal income tax — and, if you do the math, and 45% to 50% don’t pay any income tax, you can see the middle class is not really paying any kind of a fair share, depending on how you want to define it. The comments by Gibbons, a millionaire investment banker from Cleveland, were made in a September episode of “The Landscape” podcast by Crain’s Cleveland Business.
More information on Matt Dolan’s conservative fiscal record in the Ohio Statehouse:
- In 2021, Dolan drafted, negotiated, passed and implemented what the Ohio Republican Party referred to as the “most conservative budget in Ohio legislative history.”
- Dolan stopped a billion-dollar tax increase on Ohio’s small businesses.
- Since Dolan was elected to the State Legislature, Ohio’s top income tax bracket has decreased nearly 47%, saving the average Ohio worker hundreds of dollars per year in taxes.
- Dolan delivered a tax cut for every Ohioan in the 2021 Budget.
- Dolan spearheaded $95 million in investments into Ohio workforce and skills training programs over the last 5 years.
- Dolan voted this year to reduce regulations on Ohio businesses by 30% by 2025.
- Dolan’s efforts with the state budget reduced the number of income tax brackets in Ohio from 9 brackets to 4, saving Ohio families and businesses time and money.
- Dolan sponsored and passed multiple bills to modernize Ohio’s economy, such as authorizing blockchain-based transactions in our state.
- Dolan was recognized as a Guardian of Small Business by the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) in Ohio in 2020.
- Dolan was awarded Small Business Advocate of the Year by the Greater Cleveland Partnership’s Council of Smaller Enterprises in 2018.
- Dolan was endorsed by the Ohio Chamber of Commerce in 2016 and 2020.
- Dolan co-sponsored a bill to protect small businesses from costly wage and hour lawsuits by clarifying Ohio’s overtime laws.
- Dolan voted to make a variety of updates to municipal net profit tax law to improve the relationship between the taxpayer, the municipality and the state and to simplify the tax filing process.
- Dolan co-sponsored a bill to protect consumers and small businesses by cracking down on online sales of stolen or counterfeit goods.
- Dolan co-sponsored a bill to address Ohio’s workforce crisis by allowing students to participate in an apprenticeship program while earning academic credit and offering tax credits to businesses that provide training to career-technical programs.
- Dolan was named a 2021 Ohio Chamber of Commerce “Champion of Business.”
- Dolan voted to protect property owners from school districts unilaterally increasing their property taxes.
Learn more about Matt Dolan’s campaign for U.S. Senate at www.DolanForOhio.com.
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