President Touts Corporate Tax Cuts in Reform Kickoff

President Donald Trump last week touted tax reform as his key to unlocking economic growth and job opportunities, and he put the onus on Congress to overhaul the U.S. system.

The outline of the plan presented last week included reducing the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 15 percent.

“So, this is our once-in-a-generation opportunity to deliver real tax reform for everyday, hard-working Americans. And I am fully committed to working with Congress to get this job done,” Trump said during the speech that kicked off his tax-reform push. “And I don’t want to be disappointed by Congress. Do you understand me?”

The president described cutting business and individual tax rates as foundational to his goals to dramatically boost American gross domestic product and job creation. If the U.S. does not change its tax system, “jobs and our country cannot take off the way they should—and it could be much worse than that,” Trump said.

He urged congressional Republicans and Democrats to pass a tax reform plan that he said would boost wages and increase the money that flows into workers’ pockets.

“What could possibly be more bipartisan than allowing Americans to keep more of what they earn and creating an environment for real job and wage growth in the country that we love so much?” he asked.

While the White House has not proposed a specific plan, it has given an outline of priorities. In addition to cutting corporate and individual income tax rates, priorities include a one-time repatriation tax on corporate profits overseas, removing many deductions and moving to a more “territorial” tax system.

Trump said last week the plan would make the tax code simpler and fairer and bring back cash parked overseas.

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue expressed his strong support for the tax reform agenda.

“Just as he has done with excessive and costly regulations, President Trump has focused on the problem of onerous and burdensome taxes,” Perdue said. “Most agricultural operations are, in fact, small businesses, and the time and costs associated with merely complying with the tax code are impeding American prosperity.”

Perdue characterized the agenda as a “great benefit” to agriculture and rural America.

Source: CNBC, USDA