American Families Keeping More Of What They Earn Thanks To Tax Reform
‘In millions of households, thanks to tax reform, paying the bills has already gotten a little less painful. Planning for the future has already gotten a little easier. And this is just the beginning. Soon, millions and millions more Americans will see the impact of tax reform in their paycheck. IRS withholding is going down, take-home pay is going up, and families everywhere will be keeping more of their own hard-earned money.’
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) delivered the following remarks today on the Senate floor regarding the benefits Americans across the country continue to see from tax reform:
“We’ve been talking for weeks about the millions of Americans who are already benefiting from tax reform. Already, millions of workers have received a tax reform bonus, pay increase, or other benefit.
“I understand that a 1,000-dollar, 2,000-dollar, or 3,000-dollar bonus might not seem like much to my colleagues from New York or San Francisco. I understand why people who are already very wealthy might agree with my friends the House and Senate Democratic Leaders, who’ve said that these bonuses and benefits are merely, quote, ‘crumbs.’
“But I can assure them -- the working families I represent do not see a permanent raise or a multi-thousand-dollar bonus as ‘crumbs’ to sweep off their table. In millions of households, thanks to tax reform, paying the bills has already gotten a little less painful. Planning for the future has already gotten a little easier.
“And this is just the beginning. Soon, millions and millions more Americans will see the impact of tax reform in their paycheck. IRS withholding is going down, take-home pay is going up, and families everywhere will be keeping more of their own hard-earned money. This is great news for middle-class Americans. So why are my Democratic friends afraid to acknowledge it? The reason is simple: Every single one of them voted against tax reform.
“Every Democrat in the House and in the Senate voted against these new benefits for American workers. Every one of them voted against a pay raise for the 90 percent of American workers who, according to a Treasury Department estimate, are about to see their take-home pay go up. I don’t envy their position. I don’t envy having to explain why they voted to keep more money in Washington rather than give their constituents a raise.
“Tax reform bonuses and more take-home pay aren’t the only ways tax reform will help American workers. The law also includes a creative new solution to directly help the communities that are struggling the most.
“We all know that too few new jobs were created during the Obama administration. Through heavy taxes and excessive regulation, Washington had its foot on the brake of the U.S. economy. Job creation and wage growth were weaker than they should have been.
“But another aspect of this often goes overlooked. Of the new jobs that were created from 2010 to 2016, according to one estimate, three quarters went to major metropolitan areas. Only three percent of those new jobs went to rural America. Across the nation -- including my home state of Kentucky, particularly eastern Kentucky -- many rural areas, small cities, and suburbs were left behind by the Obama economy. It’s time to change that.
“That’s why my colleague, the junior Senator from South Carolina, made sure that tax reform included a provision to create ‘opportunity zones’ across the United States. My Republican colleagues and I were proud to support this policy. It allows state governors to designate economically-distressed areas for special tax incentives that will make them more attractive places to invest and create jobs.
“It will empower communities that have been passed over time and time again to, in effect, put up big neon signs that say ‘We’re open for business.’ It will help these struggling communities reach their full potential. This Congress is determined to reignite an economy that works for everyone.
“That’s why tax reform lets families across the country keep more of what they earn. That’s why tax reform makes America a more attractive place to create jobs and gives our businesses a fairer fight with foreign competitors. And that’s why tax reform includes this ‘opportunity zones’ provision, which will help deliver targeted relief to the communities that need it most.
“To most Americans, all this sounds like common sense. Republicans in Congress thought so, too. We came together to deliver these historic achievements for the American people. It is too bad not one single Democrat got on board with any of it. But at least, as the bigger paychecks, new bonuses, and new investments continue to roll in, our constituents know exactly who stood up for them.”
Related Issues: Tax Reform, Middle Class, Economy, Taxes
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