Tax Message in Treasury News Releases Assailed

The Treasury Department issued a batch of tax-related news releases Friday saying America has a choice between growing the economy and raising taxes, which could hurt the recovery.

Democrats immediately denounced the action as an improper use of government resources to subsidize political propaganda.

Although the message is a long-held position of the Bush administration, it was the first time the department had included it at the bottom of its news releases, said Treasury Department spokesman Rob Nichols.

“America has a choice: It can continue to grow the economy and create new jobs as the president’s policies are doing; or it can raise taxes on American families and small businesses, hurting economic recovery and future job creation,” the releases said.

The message, on four different releases issued by the department, does not mention presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Sen. John F. Kerry, a critic of President Bush’s tax policies, or anyone else by name.

Asked whether the message was referring to Kerry, Nichols said: “No. It is a reference to anyone who suggests that raising taxes is the right thing to do. There have been many who suggest that taxes should be raised. We don’t share that view.”

Kerry spokesman David Wade said the language appears to be an improper use of official government resources for political purposes.

“Once again, there are questions to be asked about American taxpayers subsidizing political propaganda to distort the debate in our country and to whitewash President Bush’s failed economic policies,” Wade said.

Nichols said there was nothing improper about including the message on the tax releases. “That is nonsense, baseless and groundless,” he said.

Democratic National Committee spokeswoman Debra DeShong said there should be an investigation to determine whether the language violates the Hatch Act, which restricts the political activities of government employees.

“For them to say it’s not political, you know -- it looks like a duck, walks like a duck. It’s not a goose,” DeShong said.