A Conversation with Grover Norquist, President of Americans for Tax Reform

Americans for Tax Reform founder & president Grover Norquist joins Washington Post Live (Video: The Washington Post)

Grover Norquist is the founder and president of Americans for Tax Reform. Norquist, an advocate for lower, simpler taxes, is an outspoken cost critic of the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan. Norquist joins Washington Post Live to discuss President Biden’s proposed tax increases and his more than $2 trillion infrastructure plan as the national debt nears $29 trillion. Norquist spoke with Washington Post Power Up author Jacqueline Alemany on Friday, April 9 at 1:00pm ET.

Click here for transcript

Highlights

The Founder and President of Americans for Tax Reform believes increasing corporate taxes will not help the American economy emerge from the pandemic. “We’re coming out of a pandemic, we’re coming out of a time when many states closed much of their economy[…] Why would Biden think now is a good time to raise the American corporate income tax to the highest in the world, higher than Communist China, higher than anything in Europe and the most low growth path by having such a high income tax.” (Video: Washington Post Live)

Norquist on Biden administration’s statement that families making less than $400k a year will not see an increase in taxes: “Biden is going right for the middle class, right for the upper middle class. And that $400k is a dead letter and never meant anything, and certainly doesn’t mean anything now.” (Video: Washington Post Live)

Founder and President of Americans for Tax Reform says no Republican in Congress will raise your taxes, and no Democrat in Congress will cut them. “The biggest difference between the two parties right now is that the Republican party at the national level will not raise your taxes, they may invade small countries they can’t pronounce, but they won’t raise your taxes. And there isn’t a Democrat in the House or the Senate who won’t raise your taxes. And there isn’t a Democrat in the House or Senate that will vote for a tax cut.” (Video: Washington Post Live)

Norquist on health savings programs: “We should expand health savings accounts and make them available to everybody, which solves some problems for self-employed people, people who are not working for a big company. A health savings account allows you to save for when you have challenges on healthcare, and you can put a certain amount of money in, your employer can, you can.” (Video: Washington Post Live)

Grover Norquist

Grover Norquist is president of Americans for Tax Reform (ATR), a taxpayer advocacy group he founded in 1985 at President Reagan’s request. ATR works to limit the size and cost of government and opposes higher taxes at the federal, state, and local levels and supports tax reform that moves towards taxing consumed income one time at one rate.

ATR organizes the Taxpayer Protection Pledge, which asks all candidates for federal and state office to commit themselves in writing to the American people to oppose all net tax increases. In the 115th Congress, 212 House members and 45 Senators have taken the pledge.

Norquist chairs the Washington, DC - based Wednesday Meeting, a weekly gathering of more than 150 elected officials, political activists, and movement leaders. The meeting started in 1993 and takes place in ATR's conference room. There are now 48 similar center-right meetings in 40 states.

Mr. Norquist also:

Serves on the board of the Parental Rights Organization and Center for the National Interest (formerly The Nixon Center.)

Served on the board of directors of the National Rifle Association of America, from 2000 - 2018.

Serves as a Contributing Editor to the American Spectator Magazine.

Serves as president of the American Society of Competitiveness.

Authored four books: Rock the House; Leave Us Alone – Getting the Government’s Hands Off Our Money, Our Guns, Our Lives; Debacle: Obama’s War on Jobs and Growth and What We Can Do Now to Regain Our Future (with co-author John Lott) and End the IRS Before it Ends Us — How to Restore a Low Tax, High Growth, Wealthy America — published April 7, 2015.

Previously, Mr. Norquist served as:

A commissioner on the Advisory Commission on Electronic Commerce.

A commissioner on the National Commission on Restructuring the Internal Revenue Service.

Economist and chief speech-writer, U.S. Chamber of Commerce (1983-1984.)

Campaign staff on the 1988, 1992, 1996 Republican Platform Committees.

Executive director of the National Taxpayers’ Union.

Executive director of the College Republicans.

Mr. Norquist holds an MBA and a BA in Economics, both from Harvard University. He lives in Washington, DC with his wife, Samah, and two daughters.