As governor of one of the most liberal states in the union, Mitt Romney did something even Ronald Reagan didn't do as governor of California: He balanced the budget without raising taxes.
Not everyone agrees:
Subject: America Needs Bold Conservative Leadership, not a Manufactured Candidate
The goal of conservatives is to scale back government, not manage big government more efficiently. Ronald Reagan had little business experience, but he also knew the business of government was carried out by people he appointed so he set about appointing conservatives. The lesson Reagan left us is that, when it comes to governing, a candidate’s worldview is far more important than business experience, primarily because one’s worldview will determine who you appoint to carry out the duties of government.
Romney Raised Taxes And Destroyed Job Creation In Massachusetts
But let’s take DeMoss at his word that Romney’s business experience will make him a good conservative president. How did his business experience help him govern Massachusetts? And did he govern as a conservative? For the last five years Romney and his supporters have cultivated an image of Romney as a fiscal superstar and who ran a very tight ship as Governor of Massachusetts. Indeed, DeMoss claims Governor Romney “turned a $3 billion deficit into a nearly $1 billion surplus, without raising taxes.” But that statement is simply not true. The reality is that Romney’s tenure as Massachusetts governor was an economic disaster for the state.
Governor Romney passed a host of new tax and fee increases, hitting the corporate world hard and devastating job creation. As Peter Nicholas, chairman of Boston Science Corporation, stated, “tax rates on many corporations almost doubled because of legislation supported by Romney.” (1)
The Cato Institute reported that in his first year as Governor, Romney “proposed $140 [million] in business tax hikes through the closing of ‘loopholes’ in the tax code.” (2) As Nicholas explains, “Romney’s tax policies were not helpful for many small businesses…when Romney took many IRS subchapter S businesses in Massachusetts and almost doubled their tax rates, it was an important disincentive to investment, growth and job creation.” (3). As Joseph Crosby of the Council on State Taxation stated, “Romney went further than any other governor in trying to wring money out of corporations.”
http://www.romneyexposed.com/2011/06/20/an-open-letter-about-mitt-romney-from-conservatives/