Yesterday was tax day, which is when many people line up at the post office to get their income taxes filed in a last minute rush. Rising taxes are no doubt on the minds of many in the 11^th Congressional District, as our current Congressman Gerry Connolly has voted in favor of every tax hike House Speaker Nancy Pelosi pushed through the House of Representatives. People are mad over the tax increases, as the economy continues to decline and unemployment continues to rise.

Both Republican candidates for Congress have voiced their opposition against tax increases. Keith Fimian came out against tax increases, and in a recent statement, he slams Connolly for raising taxes by $670 billion.

“Tomorrow is the deadline for Americans to file their taxes. After thousands of pages of complex code, billions of hours of preparation, and hundreds of billions spent on compliance, the Federal government takes an enormous bite out of the earnings of millions and millions of hardworking Americans,” Fimian said. “And Gerry Connolly doesn’t think these Americans pay enough. In just 16 months, he has voted for $670 billion in tax increases, including $316 billion that directly hit the middle class.”

“At $42 billion in tax increases for every month Connolly’s been in office, and by the time voters throw Gerry Connolly out of Congress in November, we’re looking at another quarter-billion in tax increases,” Fimian said.

“Connolly’s lust for tax increases isn’t a surprise,” Fimian said. “These tax increases and a lot of borrowing pay for the reckless spending and earmarks that he and other career politicians believe they can use to secure their re-elections.”

“During his tenure on the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, Connolly doubled the average property tax bill in Fairfax County from $2400 to $4800,” Fimian said. “We couldn’t afford Gerry Connolly on the Board of Supervisors and we can’t afford him in Congress.”

Yesterday, Pat Herrity also sent out a letter to supporters saying that he opposed tax increases and even voted against tax increases as Springfield District Supervisor.

Today is Tax Day, the day every year when we send our hard-earned dollars to Uncle Sam.

If your tax bill is relatively low this year, savor it. Over the next 10 years, your tax bill is going to skyrocket because of the tax-and-spend policies of Gerry Connolly and his mentor, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Since Connolly crossed the river into Washington to team up with the Speaker from the bankrupt state of California, he has voted for every tax hike put to a vote. The House’s Ways and Means Committee Ranking Member Dave Camp added them up. Connolly has voted for $670.341 billion in new taxes in the less than 16 months he has been in Congress. Connolly’s gross tax increases equate to more than $2,100 for every man, woman and child in the United States.

Gerry Connolly will tell you he has lowered taxes since he went to Congress – ignoring the $570 billion worth of tax increases in Obamacare alone.

We shouldn’t be surprised. Connolly has always claimed to cut taxes. He made that claim when he reduced the tax rate as a Fairfax County supervisor, yet the amount of taxes property owners paid under his watch doubled from $2,400 to $4,800 in just seven years – increases Connolly supported. It’s a new type of math – Connollymath.

These are the kind of dishonest smoke-and-mirrors tricks that we see so much of in Washington, and it is exactly the type of culture that is hurting our families and our businesses. We need to bring honesty and accountability back to Washington. We need jobs, not big government.

I have never and will never vote to raises taxes. Accordingly, I have signed the taxpayers’ protection pledge.

More importantly, I am the only candidate in this race that has a proven record of lowering taxes, cutting spending and reducing the size of government.

While Herrity declares his intentions to never raise taxes, this does not mean that he did not support a potential tax increase. According to The Washington Examiner and Agenda Item 2 of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Meeting on December 21, 2009, Herrity voted in favor of Phase II of the Dulles Rail Transportation Improvement District. This is a move, which according to The Examiner would require the county to loan money as a way to finance the second phase of the Dulles expansion, if a tax increase was not imposed.
As our economy is downfall mode, can we truly afford additional taxes? No, tax increases only harm prosperity and hurt working families. Hopefully, both Republican candidates will stand by their promises not to raise taxes once elected.