Pence vows ‘across-the-board’ cuts
VP visits Orlando for round-table, Statesman’s Dinner
Vice President Mike Pence promised “across-the-board” tax cuts for small businesses, working families and small farmers during a speech and round-table discussion Thursday at an Orlando boat manufacturing company.
“We’re going to save people time. We’re going to save people money. We’re going to simplify the tax code, once and for all,” said Pence, touting the Republican tax plan unveiled earlier in the day in Washington, D.C.
The GOP plan would slash the corporate tax rate, lower the cap on mortgage interest deductions, eliminate deductions for state and local income taxes and cap property
tax deductions but leave untouched the popular 401(k) retirement plans.
Pence was joined in Orlando by Florida Gov. Rick Scott and Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Purdue on a tour of Correct Craft, a business near Orlando International Airport.
Following his remarks there, Pence and his motorcade arrived at the Grand Floridian Resort at Walt Disney World, where he addressed the Republican Party of Florida's Statesman's Dinner.
The speech was closed to the news media, but Republican state Rep. Mike Miller, running next year for Democratic U.S. Rep. Stephanie Murphy’s seat in Congress, said Pence again praised the Republican tax plan and also addressed Tuesday’s terror attack in New York City that left eight people dead.
“I appreciate what the vice president said,” Miller said. “We really do need to be tak- ing a hard look at how we handle who is coming into our country, and what that means.”
Earlier, the roundtable at Correct Craft was moderated by Scott and watched by an audience of about 100, including local dignitaries and businesspeople, while a crowd of employees was nearby.
“You cut taxes, you get more jobs,” Scott said. “It’s as simple as that.”
Pence, a former governor from Indiana, heard from business owners vexed by what they described as voluminous tax forms and burdensome regulations. A farmer argued for repealing the estate tax, and a simulation company owner said current tax law sets the odds “overwhelmingly against” startups like his.
The GOP plan would eventually end the estate tax, a levy on large inheritances that Pence and other Republicans call the “death tax,” though full repeal would take six years.
“The death tax … interrupts the ability for families to pass along resources and assets to the next generation in ways that ensure the stability and vitality of communities,” Pence said.
Bill Yeargin, CEO of Correct Craft, said tax cuts could lead to bigger bonuses for his employees.
“When we have success, we want to share it with our employees,” he said. “It’s a very important part of our culture.”
The event’s theme was that the GOP tax plan — which critics say disproportionately benefits the wealthy and large corporations — would give small companies and families a boost.
“Lowering taxes on businesses,” Pence said, “is not about brick and mortar. It really is about the people.”
“The reality is, one of the most effective ways to raise wages in Florida, to raise wages in America, is to lower taxes on businesses,” he said.
Prior to the tax discussion, Pence offered support for New York, noting that Orlando as much as any city knows the hurt of such a tragedy, having experienced the massacre at Pulse nightclub last year.
“We know, and Orlando proved again, the resilience and character of the people in this country shining forth in New York City today,” he said. “When our enemies bring violence, America brings resolve, and we will bring justice.”
A 92-year-old business best known for its biggest brand, Nautique, Correct Craft owns at least a dozen boat, engine and watersports companies. The company bet big on growth during the Great Recession, emerging from the downturn as a success story.