Mitt Romney hailed touted tax hikes similar to ones he now slams

As a presidential candidate, Republican Mitt Romney says he opposes revenue-boosting tax increases. But back when he was Massachusetts' governor, he bragged about them.

The Romney administration in 2004 and 2005 quietly highlighted the state's recent tax and fee hikes as part of an effort to persuade the financial rating agencies Standard & Poor's and Fitch Ratings to improve the state's bond ratings.

The administration's bullet-point presentations to the agencies, made public through freedom of information requests, sought to make the case that Massachusetts had "acted decisively" to address the state's fiscal problems with a combination of streamlining, belt-tightening budget cuts, and revenue enhancements. The enhancements included closing "tax loopholes" that would add "$269 million in additional recurring revenue" to state coffers, along with $271 million in increased fees, according to copies of the presentations. They also referred to 2002 tax increase approved before Romney took office.

But on the campaign trail this summer, Romney has blasted President Obama's call for similar revenue boosters to help reduce the nation's debt.

"When I was governor," Romney said in a statement Monday, "S&P rewarded Massachusetts with a credit rating upgrade for our sound fiscal management and the underlying strength of our economy. That didn't happen by accident."

The Romney campaign Thursday strongly objected to the suggestion the candidate was being hypocritical.

"They key point here is that Governor Romney never signed a tax increase into law," said campaign spokeswoman Andrea Saul. She insisted fee hikes are not the same as tax hikes.

Politico first revealed the Romney administration's past hailing of tax increases in a posting Wednesday night, after obtaining the 2004 S&P presentation. The Globe obtained a second presentation Thursday. It was pitched to Fitch on June 6, 2005, with similar arguments.

A question left unanswered by the Politico report is whether Romney was in the room for the presentations to the rating agencies. A June 3, 2005, memo to Romney from the Executive Office for Administration & Finance states that the governor was scheduled to join the presentation to Fitch after the first hour and would deliver remarks of 10 to 15 minutes.

Yet Romney criticized the deal Obama struck with congressional leaders to raise the amount the US government may borrow, because the agreement "opens the door to higher taxes and puts defense cuts on the table." He has blamed Obama for S&P's downgrade of the nation's bond rating.