President Donald Trump called the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act an “economic miracle” as he marked the reform package’s six-month anniversary during a White House event Friday.
“At last, our country finally has a tax system that is pro-job, pro-worker, pro-family, and pro-American,” Trump said.
The $1.5 trillion tax reform law cut the U.S. corporate tax rate from 35 percent, the highest in the world, to 21 percent, in line with other developed nations. It also lowered the top individual rate from 39.6 percent to 37 percent, eliminated brackets, and closed loopholes.
“It’s my great honor to welcome you back to the White House to celebrate six months of new jobs, bigger paychecks, and keeping more of your hard-earned money where it belongs: in your pocket or wherever else you want to spend it,” Trump said.
During his remarks, Trump recognized Heritage Foundation President Kay Coles James and others in the audience for helping push what so far has been his signature legislative achievement through Congress in late 2017.
Trump pointed out not a single Democrat voted for the reform. He also said deregulation might have had as much to do with growing the economy $7 trillion.
“The typical family of four earning $75,000 will see an income tax cut of more than $2,000, and in some cases much more, slashing their tax bill in half,” Trump said. “We cut taxes for businesses of all sizes to make this the best place on earth to start a business, to invest. We have billions and billions of additional revenue coming in.”
Trump asserted more than 100 utility companies cut prices as a result of the tax cut, “saving Americans $3 billion on their utility bills.”
Trump again noted unemployment claims are at a more than four-decade low, and again cited historic low unemployment rates for blacks and Hispanics, a frequent theme in his speeches.
He added women are about to join that historic category.
“Unemployment for women, if you listened to my speech two weeks ago, you would have heard me say it’s the lowest in 21 years,” Trump said. “Now I’m saying it’s the lowest in 65 years and soon will be the lowest in history.”
The economy appears to be doing very well, said Adam Michel, tax policy analyst with The Heritage Foundation, noting some of the same employment numbers as the president.
“Even more impressive is that in the first quarter of 2018, investment—the bedrock of economic growth—increased by more than 21 percent among companies in the Standard & Poor’s 500 stock index, compared with the same quarter in 2017,” Michel told The Daily Signal. “The good economic news only accounts for some small part of tax reform’s benefits, there is much more to come as businesses and individuals start to realize how the new law allows them to expand, hire, and invest even more.”
Trump also framed these changes as part of his larger reform agenda.
“Commonsense is being restored in Washington once again because hardworking Americans are in charge of their government once again. Washington tried to change us,” Trump said. “That’s not going to happen. Instead, we’re changing Washington and we are changing it quickly and for the better.”
