Bradley wants to end $125 billion in corporate tax breaks

Associated Press, 01/04/00

MANCHESTER, N.H. -- Democrat Bill Bradley wants to end corporate tax breaks worth an estimated $125 billion over 10 years, his presidential campaign says.

Bradley, scheduled to detail the proposal today in a noontime speech to New Hampshire business leaders, was known for his Senate work on tax reform but before now has had little to say about tax policy in the race against Vice President Al Gore for the 2000 Democratic presidential nomination.

By going after big-business tax breaks, Bradley hoped to strike a popular chord among average voters, especially in New Hampshire, where anti-tax sentiment is institutionalized: There is no state income tax.

Gore also was campaigning today in the Granite State, which holds the nation's first presidential primary on Feb. 1.

Bradley began before sunrise, appearing on CBS' "Early Show" and MSNBC's "Imus in the Morning" and commenting on the day's foreign-affairs headlines.

Asked about Russia's new acting President Vladimir Putin, Bradley tipped his hat to Putin for apparently being "committed to economic reform," but, echoed Republican presidential rivals who have condemned Putin for his promotion of Moscow's offensive in Chechnya.

Bradley said the United States should cut off Export-Import bank financing for Russia as long as the brutality continues in Chechnya. "We have to do something here to demonstrate our opposition to it," Bradley told talk-show host Don Imus.

"After that, you have to work with whoever is the leader of Russia. I mean, you're clearly not going to intervene in Russia."

On this week's renewed peace talks between Syria and Israel, Bradley said chances of success are better than ever. Syrian President Hafez Assad "is older, he knows he's not going to be around a lot longer and he'd like to kind of settle things before he leaves ... that means having an agreement with Israel," Bradley said.

Bradley's campaign was vague Monday night about which corporate tax shelters, special subsidies and "handful" of loopholes Bradley would eliminate, but likely suspects included special tax-code treatment for the oil, gas and mining industries.

"We'll specify a series of steps to effectively close corporate tax shelters, which are ways corporations use existing tax code to avoid their obligations, and to close a handful of tax loopholes that provide unfair advantage to corporate interests, distort the tax code and require the American taxpayer to pay more," campaign spokesman Eric Hauser said.

Why close just a handful? "This is a good start," Hauser said. "Bill Bradley's commitment to the concept of tax reform will be resolute throughout his two terms, so this is not necessarily the end."

Bradley and Gore launched what promised to be a frenetic month of campaigning by trading potshots on their respective budget plans.

For months, Gore has tried, with some success, to paint Bradley -- and particularly his $65-billion-a-year health insurance plan -- as a big-spending budget buster.

In an interview with USA Today, Gore said Bradley's approach to health care risks "destroying the harmony between fiscal policy and monetary policy" and added that a president's first priority should be to "make sure that we don't blunder into another recession."

Asked whether he was saying Bradley's approach risks recession, Gore told the paper, "Yes, I think it does."

Bradley spokeswoman Kristen Ludecke responded that "either you lead from hope or you lead from fear. It's obvious from Al Gore's attacks on Bill Bradley that he lacks confidence in his own agenda for the country."

Today's tax proposal, in which Bradley does not earmark prospective new revenue for additional spending, could blunt the impact of Gore's criticism at the same time it could leave Bradley open to charges of trying to raise taxes.

Gore is relying on at least $1.4 billion in loophole-closings over five years -- the plan in the Clinton administration's fiscal 2000 budget -- to help pay for his campaign promises.

Massachusetts Sen. Edward M. Kennedy will endorse Gore sometime in the next week, The Boston Globe reported today.

Citing Democratic sources, the Globe said Kennedy would announce his decision this week or next, in advance of primary voting in neighboring New Hampshire, where Bradley's challenge to Gore is strongest.

Kennedy's decision comes after lobbying from the White House and breaks with his pattern of waiting to endorse a nominee until the Democratic convention.