Saying that Americans get hit hardest when the country can’t compete with the rest of the world because of its tax code, Vice President Mike Pence promised that working Americans will be the biggest beneficiaries of tax reform.
“Those who suffer the most in this anti-competitive environment are not the nameless, faceless businesses of America,” Pence said in an address at the American Enterprise Institute.
“They’re really everyday working people, who haven’t been able to find opportunity because of the pressures that have been placed on our economy over the last generation,” the vice president said.
“Hardworking Americans that don’t have the luxury of offshoring or moving their tax liability to another country end up paying the price and bearing the burden of bad policies here at home.”
Pence spoke Tuesday, before the House took up the budget proposal the Senate passed last week, which is expected to expedite a tax reform proposal backed by President Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress. Pence said he was confident the reform would pass Congress before the end of the year.
>>> Update: The House voted 216-212 Thursday for a $4 trillion budget, a slim margin that allows Republicans to begin work on a $1.5 trillion in tax cuts without fear of Democrats’ blocking tactics, the Associated Press reported. None of 192 Democrats voted yes, and 20 Republicans voted no.
The Republicans’ tax proposal would increase the deduction for child care and caring for elderly adults; make the first $12,000 for individuals and first $24,000 for married couples income tax-free; eliminate the penalty for businesses bringing back earnings from overseas to the United States; simplify the tax-filing process so that most Americans could file their returns on a single sheet of paper; cut the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 20 percent; and eliminate the estate tax, which critics refer to as the “death tax.”
“It’s amazing to think here in this optimistic nation how many Americans now will tell people in surveys they’re not sure their children are going to have an opportunity to prosper more than they do,” Pence said. “I’m going tell you right now, under President Trump’s leadership, those days are over.
“We are going to bring real change to the tax code, and we are going to unleash the boundless potential of the American economy for every American.”
The White House Council of Economic Advisers estimates that slashing the corporate tax rate would boost wages by $4,000 for the average American household, Pence told the audience.
“It’s simple economics, as the scholars in this room can attest,” he said. “When you cut taxes, when you increase incentives to work, invest, save, and innovate, and when more Americans are working, and when more businesses are growing, hiring, and building in America, productivity rises, wages rise, and the middle class [thrives].”
Pence said that, for all the studies, tax cuts are not just academic theory and have been proven to boost the economy before, citing the experience of previous presidents.
“John F. Kennedy proved these ideas worked. Ronald Reagan proved these ideas worked. With your support, President Donald Trump is going to prove they work again,” he said.
“In fact, we believe our tax-cut plan has the potential to generate sustained economic growth of more than 3 percent and spark that middle-class miracle. Think about what that might mean: With just 3 percent growth, over the next 10 years, we’ll create more than 12 million new jobs and nearly $10 trillion in economic activity.”
