Allen TV ad hits Kaine on debunked tax claim

The George Allen Senate campaign is on the air with a new TV spot that raises a debunked claim that rival Tim Kaine is open to a tax increase.

“As Virginia faces over 200,000 jobs lost under the failed Washington deal Tim Kaine supported, his answer once again is to raise taxes on small business owners,” said Mike Thomas, campaign manager for George Allen for U.S. Senate, pushing the new Allen TV spot, titled “Accountable,” which riffs off a Kaine statement at a Sept. 20 Senate debate.

Kaine said in response to a question on Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney’s criticism of voters who don’t pay federal income taxes that he would “be open to a proposal to have some minimum tax level for everyone.”

“Tim Kaine’s response to nearly every challenge is to raise taxes.  Starting on his sixth day as governor, Tim Kaine tried to raise taxes by over $4 billion while 100,000 Virginians lost their jobs. It should come as no surprise that Tim Kaine’s plan in Washington is more of the same,” Thomas said.

The PolitiFact Virginia fact-checker has rated the claim from the Allen campaign that Kaine “wants to raise taxes on everyone” as being false, citing Kaine’s words that he would only be “open” to a proposed minimum federal income tax.

Kaine for Virginia Communications Director Brandi Hoffine said it is “disappointing” that the Allen campaign would run an ad that it knows to be false.

“The facts are that the tax burden on Virginia families was lower under Tim Kaine than under George Allen,” Hoffine said. “Tim Kaine cut taxes for the lowest-income Virginians, while George Allen wants to cut taxes for the wealthiest Americans.  Tim Kaine has offered a specific plan to avoid sequestration, while George Allen has vague proposals that would actually increase the deficit.  And Tim Kaine continues show a willingness to listen and work with the other side in the interest of finding common ground while George Allen continues to draw ideological battle lines.

“There are very real differences the candidates can talk about.  So it’s disappointing that George Allen would continue to make stuff up,” Hoffine said.