Friday, June 02, 2006

So that's why Dick want to do away with taxes

DeVos Has a History of Influencing Tax Policy to Enrich Himself and Amway SBT repeal latest selfish effort to help himself financially LANSING – Today Michigan Democratic Party Chair Mark Brewer presented evidence showing that GOP gubernatorial candidate Dick DeVos has a long history of influencing government tax policy in order to save him, his company Amway and his family hundreds of millions of dollars. “Throughout his career, Dick DeVos has used his and his family’s political influence to enrich Amway and himself at expense of average working families,” said Brewer. “In 1997 DeVos got a $300 million dollar federal tax break on Amway’s China investments. In 1998 he lobbied for the elimination of the federal estate tax, which would save the Amway heirs $1.3 billion. And now he is trying to again save Amway and himself millions of dollars by eliminating the SBT. Add it up – nearly $2 billion in tax cuts for Dick DeVos and Amway.” “DeVos’ pattern of conduct shows that his true motivation for changing tax policy has been to enrich himself and Amway at taxpayers’ expense,” continued Brewer. “This is yet another reason why Dick DeVos must disclose his tax returns so the citizens of Michigan know how much he will benefit from his self-serving advocacy of repealing the SBT.”Single Business Tax Repeal: DeVos is campaigning for the repeal of the Single Business Tax (SBT) which would result in the loss of nearly $2 billion in state revenue. The SBT’s elimination would cost Michigan families an additional $800 a year or force cuts in public education, health care and public safety. DeVos has also said he said he doesn’t have a plan for replacing the revenue. DeVos is advocating for the SBT’s elimination because it will benefit Amway and him financially.Estate Tax RepealA new Public Citizen report details how Amway, Dick DeVos, his family and the Van Andel family are part of a group that have financed and coordinated a 10-year effort to repeal the federal estate tax, a move that would save DeVos and Van Andel heirs $1.3 billion. The report reveals that Amway first lobbied on the estate tax under Dick DeVos’ Presidency in 1998 and has lobbied every year since. http://www.citizen.org/hot_issues/issue.cfm?ID=1359Tax Break on China Investments:Common Cause reported that a tax loophole was inserted into the 1997 federal tax and budget bill which primarily benefited Amway and its Asian investments, to the tune of nearly $300 million. Amway’s tax giveaway occurred while Dick DeVos was President of the company and after Amway and the DeVos family had given millions of dollars in soft money to various Republican groups during the 1990’s. The $300 million tax loophole for Amway came just before DeVos cut 1,400 Michigan jobs, invested hundreds of millions of dollars in China and created tens of thousands of jobs in China. http://michigandems.com/CommonCause.htm

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