Lobbying

Trump echoes Reagan in call for tax reform

by Rebecca Savransky - 10/22/17 12:12 PM ET

President Trump in an op-ed published Sunday echoed former President Reagan in his calls for tax reform.

“Today is the anniversary of former president Ronald Reagan signing into law the Tax Reform Act of 1986. The act was the second major law he signed to reform the tax code for the American people,” Trump wrote in the USA Today piece, titled, “With tax reform we can make it morning in America again.”

“Republicans and Democrats came together to cut taxes for hardworking families in 1981, and again in 1986 to simplify the tax code, so that everyone could get a fair shake. The rest, as they say, is history.”

{mosads}Trump said the U.S. economy boomed, the median family income rose and more American products reached foreign shores with the words “Made in the USA.” There were also new creations, Trump said, that “dramatically improved our quality of life.”

“It was a time of extraordinary optimism — it was truly ‘Morning in America,’ an economic miracle for the middle-class,” he wrote.

“A lot has changed since then, especially when it comes to taxes.”

Trump said America is among the highest taxed nations in the developed world, adding that the country’s tax code and laws have “tripled in length since the 1986 reforms.”

“The era of economic surrender is now over,” Trump wrote.

Trump went on to tout the actions he has taken since assuming office.

He said his administration has removed regulations and is pulling out of what he called “lopsided international deals” such as the Paris climate agreement. He also referenced an executive order he signed earlier this month to “free our people from the grip of ObamaCare.”

Unemployment, Trump said, is at a 16-year low and wages are rising.

“The optimism has returned — the sun is once again rising over America,” he wrote.

“But our economy cannot take off like it should unless we transform our outdated, complex and burdensome tax code, and that is exactly what we are proposing to do.”

Trump also said that reforming the country’s tax code is a moral discussion, adding that his administration is taking action to “dramatically reduce the burden that the sprawling federal tax code has become on our citizens.”

“Our plan will transform the tax code so that it is once again simple, fair and easy to understand,” he said. “We want you to spend your valuable time pursuing your dreams, not trapped in a tax compliance nightmare.”

America has the benefit of “hindsight as we look back at the three decades since our country’s last major tax reform,” Trump said.

“We can see what worked and what did not. And most importantly, we can apply the lessons learned to the challenges of today,” he added.

“The tax cuts and reforms of the 1980s show that when we empower the American people to pursue their dreams, they will not only achieve greatness and create prosperity beyond imagination, they will build an entirely new world,” he continued. “It is time to ignite America’s middle class miracle once again.”

Senate Republicans last week took the first step toward passing a tax plan and fulfilling a long-held campaign pledge.

Senators narrowly voted, 51-49, to pass the fiscal 2018 budget after a grueling hours-long marathon on the Senate floor. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) joined with every Democrat and independent to vote against the bill.

The spending blueprint is key to Republicans’ efforts to pass tax reform because it includes instructions that would allow the tax plan to avoid a Democratic filibuster.

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