In 2012, when Eric Hovde made his first run to be a Wisconsin Senator, he blasted the loopholes that allow the corporations to get away without paying any taxes. In 2021, during an economic forum sponsored by his California bank, he made the same lamentations:
— Hovde said in a radio ad during his first Senate campaign in 2012 that it was “wrong” that “major corporations often pay little to nothing in corporate taxes.” He also said in the ad, “We must get rid of corporate welfare, lower tax rates across the board and make the system fair for everyone.”
— In 2021, Hovde said that he agreed with a Democratic proposal to pass a minimum tax rate for corporations. “This is one I really agree with them on because I’ve always hated it — companies like Goldman Sachs or Apple can put all their technology in offshore places and pay no taxes,” he said.
Oddly, Hovde has not mentioned it so far into this campaign season. That could be because he is now one of those corporate tax dodgers. Per a report from Politico, Hovde's firms have invested tens of millions of dollars in companies which operate in the United States but are headquartered in Bermuda. Thus, Hovde has been able to avoid paying corporate taxes by using the same loopholes and evasion schemes he claimed to oppose.
If you think that looks bad enough, wait until his spokesperson, Ben Voelkel opens his mouth:
In a statement, Hovde campaign spokesperson Ben Voelkel chalked up an inquiry about the investments to “ridiculous attacks” from liberals “because Sen. Baldwin can’t run on her own record as a nearly 40-year career politician and rubber stamp for the Biden agenda.” Volkel also chided Baldwin and Congress for not addressing “our broken tax system that favors big corporations and leaves small and medium businesses stuck footing the bill.”
Ah, so it's all Joe Biden's and Tammy Baldwin's fault for not keeping Hovde from avoiding paying his fair share of taxes. I can't wait to see the bumper sticker slogan coming out of that: Elect Hovde, before he dodges any more taxes!
