Independent TV ad will push Pence tax cut

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - Television ads in support of Governor Mike Pence's proposed 10 percent cut in the state income tax will hit the air on Friday.

The ads were produced by an independent organization called Americans for Prosperity. The group plans on spending over $100,000 in the effort to convince Republicans in the General Assembly to go along with the GOP governor.

The President of the Virginia-based group, Tim Phillips, came to the Statehouse to announce a tax cut campaign that will include grassroots organizing and multi-media messaging. 

"We believe Governor Mike Pence is absolutely on the right track," said Phillips.

Americans for Prosperity was founded by David Koch, a New York industrialist who is a big Republican giver as well as a donor to Mike Pence. Pence ran on the tax cut promise but saw fellow Republicans remove it from his budget proposal in the Indiana House. 

"This is a 10 percent income tax cut for all Hoosiers and that's the issue that we're targeting," said Chase Downham, Indiana point man for Americans for Prosperity.

Among those targeted by the ad campaign is House Speaker Brian Bosma. 

"You're looking at a guy that's had death threats, people camped on my front door, had participated in millions of dollars of paid advertising on both sides," said Bosma, "so, my focus will be on making the right decision." 

The right decision, says Bosma, may mean that the governor's tax cut will be a lesser priority than school spending. 

"I did see someone say we were spending like drunken sailors," he said. "We've returned education funding back to the level it was in 2009, so, we were all pretty sober then.  We're pretty sober now."

A state Senate committee began formal consideration of the state budget Thursday. A Senate version of the budget won't be drafted for several weeks.  A final decision on a tax cut won't be made until the end of April.