In Washington, it’s time for congressional Republicans to do the limbo.
Most conservatives agree that America’s out-of-control corporate tax rate needs drastic reform. Over the next few weeks, Speaker Paul Ryan and Ways and Means Committee Chair Kevin Brady must crank up the boombox and ask their GOP colleagues just how low they can go.
America’s federal corporate tax rate is currently sitting at 35 percent – the highest in the developed world – so it’s no wonder why the U.S. labor force participation rate has been unable to bounce back to pre-Great Recession form. In fact, today it is still sitting at just 63.1 percent, 3 points below its 2008 mark. Corporate tax cuts are just as crucial to restoring working class jobs and purchasing power as bottom rate income tax cuts are. The time to act is today, and there are no do-overs: conservatives must fix it now while the GOP still controls every facet of Washington politics.
So, just how low are Ryan and Brady prepared to go? The rough draft of the 2017 tax reform blueprint, released last month, set the number at 20 percent — a respectable figure, but perhaps one that is not quite bold enough. Now is not the time for half measures. Pull the Band-Aid off fast.
President Trump’s message to Speaker Ryan: How low can you go?!
Shortly after the blueprint’s release, Trump announced that “we’ll be adjusting [the plan] a little bit over the next few weeks to make it even stronger.” Even though talks of negotiations on the corporate tax rate have quieted, behind the scenes I’m sure the discussion is raging given Trump said, “We’ll see what happens, but I hope [the corporate tax rate is] going to be 15 percent.”
Never Trump pundits are making the rounds on cable shows, such as MSNBC analyst and Republican consultant Elise Jordan, who equated the president’s corporate tax rate goal to a grown adult asking for a unicorn. If they know anything about Trump after these few months…get ready to see a unicorn.
Regardless…
