Cunningham Doubles Down On Abusing Tax Credit To Renovate His Home

August 27th, 2020

Defends Having Taxpayers Pay $39,000 For His Breakfast Sink

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – During an interview posted by WFMY last night, Cal Cunningham doubled down on abusing a historic preservation tax credit program to make lavish renovations to his home.  Cunningham said that the $39,000 of taxpayer money he used was justified because it funded an area where his family eats their breakfast.

“Cal Cunningham broke a no-tax-increase pledge and ‘disproportionately hurt the lower class’ with his $1 billion tax hike, but he thinks North Carolinians can afford to fork over their hard-earned tax dollars to enhance his daily breakfast experience,” said Tillis campaign spokeswoman Alex Nolley. “Cunningham’s callous indifference toward the financial hardships facing the people of North Carolina right now shows he has no business leading the state’s economic recovery effort.”

Cunningham used taxpayer dollars to renovate his home despite claiming the “wealthy must pay their fair share” in taxes and decrying “special interest tax breaks,” providing a further example of how his entire campaign has been about saying one thing and doing another.

Watch Cunningham’s interview HERE.

TRANSCRIPT

ANCHOR: So it is also public record and there are now reports that are starting to surface about this and I’m sure it will be likely the context of more political ads and contention between you and Senator Tillis. The State Historic Preservation Office approved nearly $39,000 in historic tax credits toward renovating your Raleigh home starting in 2015. A report questions how you used those credits, so can you clarify what specific renovations you did to your home with the historic tax credits and then what renovations you did with your own money?

CAL CUNNINGHAM: Well so Megan I think we can see from even these questions, it’s the silly season and Republicans are attacking me. My wife and I applied for and received a tax credit that had bipartisan support. It’s been used to renovate neighborhoods and communities like the 100-year-old house that we renovated.  And I don’t know what his fetish is with handwashing, but what we did is we installed a sink in what is now an area where our kids have breakfast in the morning.