Joe Biden is a Taxer

CNS News has some insights on the tax philosophy of Joe Biden, #1 most liberal Barack Obama's running mate and the #3 most liberal senator.

Biden voted against both of President George W. Bush’s major tax cuts, voting “no” on May 26, 2001 against Bush’s $1.35 trillion tax cut, and “no” on May 23, 2001 against President Bush’s $350 billion tax cut.

Sen. John McCain, the presumptive Republican presidential candidate, joined Biden in voting “no” against both the 2001 and 2003 Bush tax cuts. In 2003, the Senate vote ended up being a 50-50 tie, and Vice President Dick Cheney ended up casting a tie-breaking vote for the tax cut to be enacted.

Every year the non-partisan National Taxpayers Union gives each member of Congress a grade on taxing and spending issues. The NTU looks at every vote that “significantly affects taxes, spending, debt, and regulatory burdens on consumers and taxpayers,” attaches a weight to each vote, and then scores the members of Congress accordingly.

In all but three of the 16 years between 1992 and 2007, NTU gave Biden an “F” on taxing and spending. In 2007, NTU gave him a 4% rating and ranked him 94th out of 100 senators.

In fact, with few exceptions, Biden has a long history of taxing going back to the Reagan years.

Here are some ratings of Joe Biden by tax interest groups at Project Vote Smart.