You promised tax reform, now it’s time to deliver

Several months into the Trump administration, it is time to remind our policymakers of their commitments to their constituents and to their country. Reforming our overly complex tax code and improving economic conditions for American businesses has been a consistent theme of President Donald Trump’s rhetoric, from the beginning of his campaign to today.

Now it’s time to turn this rhetoric into action to strengthen the American economy.

In California and across the country, the tax code inhibits business growth at every industry level, hurting small businesses in particular, who face combined tax rates as high as 40 percent. (This rate is further compounded when you consider high marginal rates in California.) The terms of the tax code are out of date and nonsensically complicated; and the uncompetitive rates imposed on businesses while others sidestep those rates by finding loopholes hurt the economy at large.

Taking a step back and looking at where the United States falls in global terms, businesses in the U.S. pay some of the highest pass-through and corporate rates in the industrialized world.

At 35 percent, the U.S. has the highest business tax rate in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). This seriously hampers American businesses in a global marketplace, and continues to drive American jobs overseas.

The current code, which has not been updated in 30 years, rigs the system partly through its very complexity. At 75,000 pages, it is not surprising that our tax code does not work in the best interest of hardworking American small-business owners who are trying to make better products and services and provide for their families every day. Instead, it gives distinct advantages to large corporations who employ scores of tax attorneys and lobbyists who are able to navigate and exploit the loopholes that litter the tax code.

We need a tax code that sets a fair corporate tax rate, closes loopholes and rescinds the special deals that benefit special interests.

This is the way to bring more jobs back home to the American people and to inject real growth into our economy. This is paramount to assist small businesses like mine and those I represent here in our region.

Stanislaus County’s unemployment rate is far higher than the national average and we lag in other major economic indicators. Policymakers should be reminded that small businesses are the No. 1 job creators in the nation, state and here in the Central Valley.

Republicans were voted into power on a wave of promises to reform the tax code. The White House and Congress have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to pass comprehensive tax reforms that will make a real difference in the lives of all Americans. Washington’s policymakers across the political spectrum need to act on their fundamental obligation to the nation and to taxpayers, and get the job done on tax reform to promote economic growth and job creation.

They talked about “America First.” It’s time to see what that looks like in terms of concrete action.

This story was originally published June 18, 2017 at 2:32 PM with the headline "You promised tax reform, now it’s time to deliver."