Thune: Republicans Will Prevent Massive Tax Hike on Families
“[L]ater this week we’ll consider our reconciliation bill that will prevent that tax hike by extending the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.”
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WASHINGTON — U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) today delivered the following remarks on the Senate floor:
Thune’s remarks below (as delivered):
“Mr. President, next year – if Congress fails to act – a typical family will face a $1,700 tax hike.
“A typical family in South Dakota will face a $2,500 tax hike.
“Republicans are determined to make sure that that doesn’t happen.
“And later this week we’ll consider our reconciliation bill that will prevent that tax hike by extending the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
“I say extend, Mr. President, but we’re doing a lot more than just extending the 2017 tax cuts.
“We’re making them permanent.
“And in some cases, we’re even improving on them.
“Mr. President, our 2017 tax relief legislation lowered tax rates for every income group.
“It doubled the child tax credit.
“It nearly doubled the standard deduction.
“The bill we’re voting on this week will make all of that permanent.
“And it will go even further when it comes to the child tax credit, increasing it to $2,200 per child and linking it to inflation – again, permanently.
“And we’re not stopping there.
“Our bill suspends taxes on tips – boosting the incomes of millions of Americans who earn tip income.
“It suspends taxes on overtime pay for millions of American workers – meaning police officers, firefighters, nurses, and others will keep more of what they earn when they spend long hours away from their families.
“And an increased standard deduction for seniors will allow them to reduce their tax burden even further.
“Mr. President, the American people have better uses for their hard-earned money than sending it to Uncle Sam.
“And this bill will permanently ensure that Americans can keep more of what they earn.
“Mr. President, the other legacy of the 2017 tax cuts is how they boosted our economy by lifting the tax burden on America’s job creators.
“We lowered tax rates for owners of small and medium-sized businesses, farms, and ranches.
“We made it easier for them to recover the cost of investing in their businesses – which in turn freed up cash for them to invest in their operations and their workers.
“These and other major reforms helped kick-start our economy.
“And in the wake of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, our economy grew at a substantially better rate than projected.
“Real wages increased.
“Unemployment fell to a 50-year low.
“The poverty rate fell to the lowest level ever recorded.
“Business investment increased.
“Everywhere you looked there was positive economic news.
“Mr. President, we were able to make some of the business tax reforms permanent in 2017.
“And now we have an opportunity to make the rest of these pro-growth policies permanent.
“That includes lower rates for small and medium-sized businesses.
“The job-creating 199A small business deduction.
“And full expensing for new equipment and for domestic research and development.
“And once again, we’re going beyond just making the 2017 tax relief permanent.
“We’re setting our country up for a brighter future by further advancing a pro-opportunity, pro-growth tax code.
“Our bill includes full expensing for new factories and factory improvements – so we can expect to see more growth and more jobs for American workers and more goods made in America.
“It raises the death tax threshold to $15 million and links it to inflation permanently – which will spare countless family farms, ranches, and small businesses from a potentially devastating tax and the headaches and expense of planning for it.
“And an entire generation of Americans will … be able to access new investment accounts when they reach adulthood that can be used toward their education, to start a business, to buy their first home – and to get a running start on the American Dream.
“Mr. President, this is a good bill.
“And it’s going to be great for our country.
“The Council of Economic Advisers – which accurately predicted the economic growth and higher wages in the wake of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act – released its forecast of the Senate bill this morning.
“It contains a lot of good news, starting with as much as 4.9 percent higher GDP in the next few years.
“That means more jobs.
“It means bigger paychecks – as much as [$10,900] per year for a typical family.
“It means more opportunity.
“And … believe it or not – it means more revenue.
“Revenue that we bring in in the right way – by growing our economy – not by raising taxes.
“In fact, the same forecasters that got the effects of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act right are estimating as much as $6 trillion in deficit reduction stemming from the bill’s pro-growth policies.
“Mr. President, we’re well on our way to getting this bill passed this week.
“Which means we’re well on our way to a stronger and more prosperous America.
“That means Americans keeping more of their hard-earned money.
“It means American businesses growing and investing in our country and in our workers.
“And it means a thriving economy like we had before the pandemic.
“Mr. President, Republicans are ready to deliver.”
Related Issues: Taxes, Budget
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