Sheehy promises balanced budget but backs tax cuts that would add $4.6 trillion to debt | The Montana Independent
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Tim Sheehy speaks to supporters in Gallatin Gateway, Montana, June 4, 2024 (Screenshot from Independent Record/YouTube)

Montana Republican Tim Sheehy, a multimillionaire former business executive, is campaigning against incumbent Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Tester on a promise to balance the budget and reduce the national debt. But he is also pushing for tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans that would add trillions to the debt.

In response to the news that the national debt has reached $35 trillion, Sheehy tweeted on July 29: “Career politicians on both sides are to blame, and if they can’t balance the budget, they shouldn’t get paid. We need political outsiders who can’t be bought to rein in reckless spending and put AMERICA FIRST. No balanced budget, no paycheck! #RetireTester.”

Balancing the budget would require bringing in more tax revenue, cutting spending, or some combination of the two. In April, Sheehy signed a promise never to raise taxes for any reason. 

Additionally, he said in a February interview with the right-wing outlet Breitbart that parts of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act set to expire next year should be made permanent. That law slashed tax rates for the wealthiest Americans, but offered only minimal savings or even tax hikes for everyone else. According to a May estimate by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, Sheehy’s plan would add $4.6 trillion to the national debt over a decade.

In March 2023, the New York Times analyzed what cuts would be needed to balance the budget without tax cuts. It found that doing so would either mean cuts to Medicare, Social Security, and/or defense spending, or would require a 70% cut to everything else. This would mean vast cuts to Medicaid, health insurance for children, farm support, military retirement, veterans’ health, scientific research, and law enforcement. 

A Sheehy spokesperson did not respond to questions from the Montana Independent about what cuts he would make to pay for the tax cuts and achieve a balanced budget.

Tester voted for the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, which included more than $300 billion in estimated deficit reduction. He has also proposed a constitutional amendment to require a balanced budget while protecting safety net programs like Medicare and Social Security.

Sheehy has a history of pushing for lower taxes for wealthy individuals, including himself. 

In 2022, he used his influence with Republican Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte to lobby for a tax cut for wealthy out-of-state investors. 

In 2023, Sheehy and one of his business associates successfully appealed the valuation of his multimillion-dollar Big Sky vacation home, getting the Montana Department of Revenue to reduce his property tax bill by tens of thousands of dollars.

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