Guess Who Hiked Taxes to Bolster His State's S&P Rating?

Back in 2004 when he was governor of Massachusetts, Mitt Romney successfully lobbied Standard & Poor's to upgrade the state's credit rating by bragging the state had raised taxes in the state during an economic downturn, reports Politico. Last week, in the face of the first-ever downgrade to the United States' sovereign credit rating, Romney had boasted of getting a "credit rating upgrade for our sound fiscal management and the underlying strength of our economy.” But his willingness to raise taxes to get that upgrade does not exactly jibe with current GOP orthodoxy.

In a presentation to S&P marked "confidential" but obtained by Politico through a state freedom of information law, Romney's administration talked of closing tax "loopholes," adding fees, and raising revenues. “He, like everybody, when they’re raising corporate taxes, calls it ‘closing tax loopholes,’” said the president of a Massachusetts business organization. “A couple of these were real loopholes, but by and large they were increases in corporate taxes by changes in tax policy.” (More Mitt Romney stories.)