Taxes, Trump and more: Senator Thom Tillis goes on the record

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Next week, Congress returns to work in Washington. Tillis told me that, while he continues to oppose President Obama’s Iran nuclear agreement, he doubts Republicans can find enough Democratic allies to overturn the accord.

Beyond politics, Tillis shared a few tidbits. To start, he professed more than a passing knowledge of hair-metal rockers Motley Crue after Charlotte visitors authority CEO Tom Murray mentioned the band’s farewell tour concert at Time Warner Cable Arena over the weekend as an example of the tours and events that regularly come through town as a result of hotel and restaurant taxes paying for sports, entertainment and arts venues. Murray wondered aloud whether Tillis knew who Motley Crue was, promting the senator to blurt, “Oh, yeah, I’ve actually got a Motley Crue channel on Pandora.”

Later, as Lynn Minges, CEO of the N.C. Restaurant and Lodging Association, discussed industry trends, Tillis proclaimed his love of cooking — and cooking shows.

Tillis mentioned his days as a line cook in a restaurant, but neither he nor anyone else broached the topic of free-market handwashing policies. ( For those who missed the freshman senator’s previous digression on restaurant workers, rest your hands here.)

Brandishing a new Fitbit, North Carolina’s junior senator said he still escapes from politics now and then. For his 55th birthday on Sunday, he celebrated by mountain biking. Below are excerpts from Tillis’ appearances and an interview with CBJ this week.

On the sales-tax proposal under consideration in the state legislature: I think it’s lousy and I don’t think it’s going to go anywhere. It doesn’t make sense because it starts creating a divide between urban and rural areas. My comment when they were looking at it (was), “Well, let’s go back and re-think all of the distribution.” If you do this sort of policy, I think you’ll start creating some gaps and some uncertainty. I don’t think it makes sense. And I think there’s a growing sense that maybe they need to put that back in the Crock-Pot and let it cook a little more.

On the business privilege license tax ended by the General Assembly effective July 1: I really was hoping, advocating for, if we wanted to move off of that (tax) base, to provide a transition period. Instead of having the shock that it had for certain municipalities that used a lot as a source of revenue. I guess in Charlotte, it was about $19 million. It was a significant hit for other communities as well.

Any time you do tax reform, you really need to have a transition period. I don’t think in that particular case we put our best foot forward. The overall tax reform was very positive. I think it’s had some effect on some of the economic trends.

On labor issues: As the economy turns, one of the most significant impediments to economic growth is going to be labor availability. And North Carolina is in a unique position to point to a shortage of American workers for certain jobs, which is why we’ve got to work on illegal immigration.

We’re the only state in the nation that didn’t extend long-term unemployment benefits. We were at about 10.2% (unemployment) over five quarters; we went down to about 6.4%. You’ve got your direct jobs, but you’ve also got the indirect jobs: construction, a number of other things. If we don’t do a better job of getting illegal worker immigration policies in place, it’s going to be a significant impediment to a number of industries.

On local and state control over raising the minimum wage: If states want to make a decision about that, I’ll leave it to the states. I really don’t think that the federal government should come in (and decide for them). Let’s take a look at what what Washington (state) is doing, what L.A.’s doing (with a recently passed $15-an-hour minimum wage) and see if it works. … If we artifically inflate the cost of labor at a time when we’re becoming increasingly competitive in terms of a global economy, then I think it could create some real deal-killers. … If North Carolina wants to do it, y’all go down to Raleigh and talk them into it. You know, or if other cities and counties want to do it. I think it’s great that some companies are stepping up and doing it. That’s how it works. If the demand — if a Walmart can make a new wage policy that gives them a competitive advantage, the competition is going to have to respond to it — that is free-market competition versus market manipulation.

On the surprising rise of Trump in Republican polls and Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-VT):(You mean Sanders), the self-avowed Socialist Democrat? I think there’s a general frustration with where we as a country. We’re not recovering economically. You take a look at the stock market last week — it looked like the EKG of a heart-attack patient. There’s a lot of frustration. We can’t quite get businesses to invest. I think a lot of that’s the regulatory burdens they have to deal with. It’s great debate.

On my side, as a Republican, I love the process right now. People are beginning to know the personalities of the candidates. I think in the October-November time frame, they’ll start looking at policy positions and judging people on the basis of who’s really able to put that personality together with strong policy positions and priorities. We’ll be having a very different discussion about the candidates in October-November. I think competition’s good. I’m glad they’re all in there. It’s been fun to watch.

You know, we have four Senate members that are running (on the Republican side: Ted Cruz, Lindsey Graham, Rand Paul and Marco Rubio). They’re all great guys. I know them well. We sit around the cloak room and talk. I call them all, “Mr. President.”

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