Pence touts tax reform, raises cash in area visit
WAUKESHA - Vice President Mike Pence came to the Milwaukee area Thursday on a whirlwind visit to push for the Republican plan to overhaul taxes and raise campaign cash.
Appearing alongside Gov. Scott Walker, Pence traveled to Weldall Manufacturing, a heavy-duty welding and fabrication company, and met with workers and local business people to lay out the tax proposal.
“Tax cuts create jobs. Tax cuts create growth,” Pence said. “It works here in Wisconsin. and it’s going to work all across the United States.”
Later Thursday, Pence attended a fundraiser in Milwaukee at the Pfister Hotel to benefit the Trump Victory Fund, the fundraising committee for President Donald Trump’s campaign and the Republican National Committee.
The fundraiser was steeply priced, from $2,700 per person to attend up to $70,000 to be a part of the host committee.
Republicans unveiled the outlines of their tax overhaul Wednesday. The plan would allow for up to $1.5 trillion in tax cuts.
Under the proposal, the corporate tax rate would decline from 35% to 20% and the top individual rate would decline from 39.6% to 35%. The current seven individual tax brackets would shrink to three at rates of 12%, 25% and 35%.
The plan nearly doubles the standard deduction for individuals and married couples and calls for ending the estate tax and the Alternative Minimum Tax.
“We think death should not be a taxable event,” Pence said.
After touring the Weldall plant, Pence met with small groups at tables set on the factory floor near a large American flag that hung from the ceiling.
Pence said the Trump administration’s goal was to get Congress to pass the tax plan by Christmas. He said Republican leaders were on board with the proposal and welcomed bipartisan support from Democrats.
“There was very broad support for this,” Pence said. In another conversation, he said: “There’s a lot of consensus around this.”
Pence claimed that under the GOP plan, 90% of Americans would be able to file their taxes on one sheet of paper.
Asked about the complexity of the current tax code, Pence said, “I always like to say it’s 10 times as long as the Bible with none of the good news.”
Pence claimed the plan was not a boon to wealthy people, even though the top tax rate would be
lower, explaining that tax loopholes would also be closed. He did not provide specific examples.
“For many of our most prosperous Americans, it’s probably a wash,” he said. “But we think it’s a fairer, simpler tax code.”
Pence said lowering the corporate tax rate would allow businesses to compete globally, give workers raises and expand hiring.
Dave Bahl, president and chief executive of Weldall, liked what he heard.
“If you cut taxes, you have more money to spend here,” he said.
State Democratic Party Chair Martha Laning criticized the policies of Walker and Pence, the former governor of Indiana.
“As governors, Mike Pence and Scott Walker share a record of touting so-called reforms that actually lavish tax breaks overwhelmingly on the wealthy,” Laning said in a statement.
She added that Walker was helping “Vice President Pence peddle a national tax cut for the rich and big corporations that was crafted by former Wall Street insiders. In contrast, Democrats across our state will continue to fight for jobs, health care and an economy focused on the needs of Wisconsin’s middleclass families.”