Former Governor Rick Perry (R-Texas), a candidate for the presidency of the United States, has signed the Taxpayer Protection Pledge to the American people.
The pledge is a written commitment to the American people to “oppose and veto any and all efforts to increase taxes.”
“By signing the Taxpayer Protection Pledge to the American people, Governor Perry continues his tradition of protecting American taxpayers against higher taxes,” said Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform. “Governor Perry understands that government should be reformed so that it takes and spends less of the taxpayers’ money, and will oppose tax increases that paper over and continue the failures of the past.”
ATR has shared the Pledge with all candidates for federal office since 1986. In the 114th Congress, 49 U.S. Senators and 218 members of the U.S. House of Representatives have signed the Pledge. On the state level, 13 incumbent governors and approximately 1,000 incumbent state legislators have signed the Pledge.
Governor Perry signed and kept the Taxpayer Protection Pledge as the Governor of Texas and as a candidate for President in 2012.
“Governor Rick Perry led Texas for 14 years. He has kept taxes low, fought the trial lawyers and regulators — both in Texas and Washington — and created a pro-growth environment that made it possible for Texans to create new jobs and opportunities faster than in other states,” said Norquist.
In 2012, all candidates for the Republican nomination for president signed the Taxpayer Protection Pledge, with the lone exception of former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman. Huntsman finished seventh in Iowa and third in New Hampshire before dropping out of the race.