Tax [Reform] Day
As Americans File Their Taxes For The Final Time Under The Old Code, Senate Republicans Spotlight Current And Future Tax Reform Benefits
SENATE MAJORITY LEADER MITCH McCONNELL (R-KY): “Today is ‘Tax Day,’ the deadline for most Americans to file their tax returns. For many middle-class families and businesses, this date is circled on the calendar with regret and trepidation. But this year, this depressing day has a silver lining?—?simply put, it’s ‘out with the old, and in with the new.’ Today is the last time American families will have to file under the unfair, outdated tax code that Congress and the president got rid of a few months ago.” (Sen. McConnell, “2018 Tax Day: Out With The Old, And In With The New,” Medium, 4/17/2018)
SENATE FINANCE COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN ORRIN HATCH (R-UT): “[T]his tax day is the last time most of us will ever have to think about our old, outdated tax code. Next April 15, Americans will file under an updated tax code that prioritizes middle-class tax relief, higher wages and job creation instead of special interests. Though the truth is that many Americans are already beginning to see the impact of our new law. As we have all noticed, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is already withholding fewer dollars from our paychecks, simply because Congress cut your taxes.” (Sen. Hatch, Op-Ed, “Tax Day 2018: Out With The Old, In With The New,” [Provo] Daily Herald, 4/16/2018)
SEN. JOHN THUNE (R-SD): “Our goals for tax reform were simple. First, we wanted to put more money back in the pockets of hardworking Americans. It’s their money in the first place, after all. Second, we wanted to reform the tax code in a way that created the right kind of environment so businesses could create better-paying jobs and the economy could reach its potential and grow at a faster rate…. In the four months since tax reform became a reality, the economy has added more than 600,000 jobs, and the unemployment rate currently sits at a 17-year low. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office says tax reform will create more than 1 million jobs, and the increase in economic activity ‘generates more demand for labor and consequently higher wages.’ This is all good news for South Dakota taxpayers, and all signs point to more good news to come.” (Sen. Thune, Op-Ed, “Out With The Old, In With The New,” Argus Leader, 4/16/2018)
SEN. ROY BLUNT (R-MO): “[W]ith the new tax rates in effect, the vast majority of Missourians should be taking home more money in their paychecks…. At a recent roundtable hosted by President Trump in St. Louis, one mother and veteran said the increase in her take-home pay is allowing her to invest in her daughter’s education to give her the same opportunity she had to succeed. Chris, who wrote to me from Midland, says he’s taking home an additional $136 in his pension check. For him, that means another trip to the grocery store each month and help offsetting other bills. Helping families also means making sure they have more opportunities and better paying jobs in the future. We’ve seen employers in Missouri and across the nation announce major investments that will strengthen our economy and create thousands of new jobs. A solar company based in Springfield just announced that it’s adding 30 jobs and will invest $300,000 in a Kansas City expansion.” (Sen. Blunt, Op-Ed, “Tax Reform Benefiting Families Throughout Missouri,” [Fredericktown, MO] Democrat News, 4/11/2018)
SEN. CORY GARDNER (R-CO): “[I]ncluded in the tax relief bill is a less known provision called the Investing in Opportunity Act, bipartisan legislation I championed with Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C…. Under the Investing in Opportunity provision, each state creates Opportunity Zones that will receive special tax status to encourage investment, incite growth, and extend opportunities to struggling communities. As a fifth-generation Coloradan who grew up in a tiny town out on the Eastern Plains, I know how important it is to attract growth to local communities — particularly Colorado's rural communities…. [T]he Act gives special treatment for capital gains earned from investing in projects in one of the Opportunity Zones throughout Colorado. Private investors will use this public-private partnership for medium and long-term investments in our distressed communities. Now that this legislation has been signed into law and the state of Colorado has submitted its Opportunity Zone proposals, we are close to seeing this major benefit from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act begin to encourage needed growth in areas that have gone too long without it.” (Sen. Gardner, Op-Ed, “Giving More Opportunity To Coloradans Who Feel Left Behind,” The [Grand Junction, CO] Daily Sentinel, 4/15/2018)
SEN. DAN SULLIVAN (R-AK): “How exactly does the new tax code help Alaskans? First, it doubles the standard deduction. For an individual, the standard deduction goes from $6,350 to $12,000. For a married couple, it goes from $12,700 to $24,000. The bill doubles the child tax credit from the current $1,000 to $2,000 per child. The bill also lowers individual tax rates for middle-income Americans…. Most Alaskans celebrated the fact that the tax bill, at long last, authorized the opening of the 1002 area of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to responsible resource development. This has been a 40-year bipartisan goal for our state that we were finally able to achieve.” (Sen. Sullivan, Op-Ed, “Relief for Alaskans on tax day,” Anchorage Daily News, 4/16/2018)
SEN. STEVE DAINES (R-MT): “Just a few weeks ago, I toured through 26 Montana counties discussing how the tax cuts bill is growing wages, creating jobs and helping small business owners expand and invest in new equipment. From Libby to Roundup and from Chester to Hamilton, it was great to talk with Montanans across our state about the real benefits of tax cuts. Thompson River Lumber in Thompson Falls was able to purchase a new forklift – their first forklift purchase in 19 years. Big Sky Brewing in Missoula is investing their savings from tax cuts in new equipment and bonuses for their employees. Stricks Ag in Chester toured me through their facility and shared that with savings from tax cuts, their employees are seeing almost $1,000 more in their pockets per year.” (Sen. Daines, Op-Ed, “On Tax Day, Looking Forward To New Tax Code,” Montana Standard, 4/17/2018)
SEN. ROB PORTMAN (R-OH): “Just this year, I’ve toured 10 Ohio businesses and had conversations with lots of small-business owners and workers who are already benefiting from tax reform. I’ve seen the results of this new law firsthand, and I know that it’s significantly helping Ohio workers, Ohio families, and Ohio businesses. In Zanesville recently, I visited GKM Auto Parts, a small business that reinstated health care benefits to its employees as a result of the new tax reform law. After years of double-digit premium increases, in 2016 the company felt that it had no choice but to drop coverage for its employees. Benefiting from the new tax reform law, one of the first things the company did was provide health care to its employees again.” (Sen. Portman, Op-Ed, “Tax Reform Is Helping Create Optimism, Opportunity For Gallia County Workers And Families,” Gallipolis [OH] Daily Tribune, 4/02/2018)
SEN. JAMES LANKFORD (R-OK): “Many companies across the nation and across Oklahoma are using their tax savings to reinvest in their employees and add new equipment. It feels like almost every day there are new stories of employee bonuses and increased wages announced for workers…. Tulsa’s AAON Heating and Cooling Products announced that employees will receive a $1,000 bonus because of tax reform. Clinton’s Elmer Smith Oil Co. and its subsidiaries paid bonuses to more than 300 employees. Express Employment Professionals, in Oklahoma City, announced it would pay a $2,000 bonus to more than 200 non-executive employees. BancFirst raised employee wages for hourly employees. IBC Bank is reinvesting in its business. PumpsOK plans to hire new salaried employees at more than $50,000 per year. Advantage Controls plans to spend $1.4 million on a new building, which will create construction and supplier jobs; and it plans to hire 30 new employees within three years. H.E. Anderson purchased a new company vehicle and expanded its facility. Shawnee Milling Co. will invest in new equipment and is expanding jobs. I could go on and on.” (Sen. Lankford, Op-Ed, “Tax Reform Is Working For Oklahomans,” Tulsa World, 3/04/2018)
SENS. MIKE CRAPO (R-ID) and JIM RISCH (R-ID) and REPS. MIKE SIMPSON (R-ID) and RAUL LABRADOR (R-ID): “Freeing up capital needed to expand American businesses and American jobs is also a long-term benefit of tax reform. The tax reform law lowered the corporate tax rate so that American businesses are no longer taxed at the highest rate in the industrialized world. A more competitive tax code better enables capital formation, resulting in new companies being formed, staying here and expanding job opportunities.” (Sens. Crapo and Risch and Reps. Simpson and Labrador, Op-Ed, “Goodbye Old Federal Tax System, Hello Productivity, Wage And Job Growth,” Idaho Statesman, 4/16/2018)
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SENATE REPUBLICAN COMMUNICATIONS CENTER
Related Issues: Small Business, Tax Reform, Jobs, Economy, Taxes
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