Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam speaks to supporters in Nashville after being re-elected Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2014.NASHVILLE — Gov. Bill Haslam has some advice for eager fellow Republicans in the state Legislature who plan to push tax cuts in the session that begins in January.
They need to find cuts in government operations to make up the revenue losses.
“I think for me … any discussion about changes to the revenue in the state should be part of a broader discussion that also includes the state’s expense structure,” Haslam told reporters on Monday.
Haslam said “it’s easy to talk about the revenue part, then we talk about the expense part it gets a little harder.”
He said as a Republican, “I believe in cutting taxes. We’ve cut taxes since we’ve been here. We also believe in balancing the budget. And I think it’s important when you’re talking making any changes to revenue in the state, what are the commensurate changes you’re going to make in the expense structure as well?”