House Republicans Have a Mandate on Taxes: Norquist
The Republicans' majority in the House means they have a mandate against raising taxes, Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform, told CNBC's "Squawk on the Street" on Thursday.
"We just elected a Republican House that has been elected repeatedly with almost all of them making a written commitment to their constituents not to raise taxes," Norquist, long an advocate for tax reform, said. (Read More: Boehner Extends Olive Branch on 'Fiscal Cliff.')
He said that gives them more of a mandate than President Barack Obama, who was re-elected with only a 2 percent margin and 9 million fewer votes than in the last election.
Norquist told CNBC that government spending needs to be cut and that if marginal tax rates were also reduced, it would increase economic growth to bring in more revenues.
"If we could grow at 4 percent a year instead of 2 percent for a decade, $5 trillion in additional revenue comes in," Norquist said. "The way to get more revenue to the government is to have economic growth."
The tax reform advocate also said that marginal tax rates should be made more competitive.
"The Europeans have a top marginal tax rate of 28 percent on their businesses and we have 35 percent on our businesses," he said.
