Colorado needs a tax cut, and Trump’s plan will deliver

In the first nine months of our administration, President Donald Trump has taken decisive action to get the American economy moving again.

We’ve slashed job-killing red tape at a record pace, unleashed American energy, and strengthened the security that’s the foundation of our prosperity. The results are undeniable: Businesses have created more than 1 million new jobs, unemployment is at a 17-year low, and after eight years of lackluster growth, the American economy is once again expanding at more than 3 percent.

But as Trump likes to say, at this White House, that’s just what we call a good start. To usher in a new era of more jobs, higher wages and greater opportunity, Trump is committed to sign a historic tax cut — this year.

When I visit Denver today, one of the messages I will bring is that our administration’s tax-cut plan is vitally important to the Centennial State. It will put more money back in the pockets of working families and put job creators on the path to a brighter future.

Tax cuts are long overdue. It’s been more than 30 years since President Ronald Reagan passed the last major tax reform, and since those days, America has fallen behind.

Our current tax system takes too much of working Americans’ hard-earned money. It taxes our businesses at the highest rate in the developed world and drives our companies overseas. And it too often benefits the wealthy and the well-connected, who can hire lawyers and lobbyists to exploit the tax code to their advantage.

Colorado has felt the squeeze. In recent years, Denver alone has lost 5 percent of its middle class. But our tax-cut plan is based on four common-sense principles that will bring about a middle-class miracle.

First, we’ll give working families a tax cut, plain and simple.

Our plan will make sure that families pay zero federal taxes on their first $24,000 of income. We’ll also expand the child tax credit, and end the death tax once and for all. All told, some 900,000 Colorado families will pay zero federal income taxes under our plan.

Second, we’ll make the tax code both simple and fair.

We’ll eliminate special deals for special interests, and cut the hand-outs, carve-outs and loopholes that benefit the lucky few at everyone else’s expense.

We’ll also streamline the code. Under our plan, more than 90 percent of Americans can file their taxes by themselves on a single sheet of paper.

Third, we’re going to make American business competitive again.

Trump is committed to cutting the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 20 percent — and not a penny more. And to give small businesses relief, we’ll cut the top rate on pass-through income to 25 percent — the lowest level since 1931.

Finally, we’re going to cut taxes on the trillions of dollars that American companies have locked overseas, so those dollars can be brought home, and invested in American workers, American jobs and America’s future.

All told, these tax cuts for business will boost wages for the typical worker by at least $4,000. And Coloradans will get additional relief from the tax cuts for working families. No matter how you look at it, Colorado families will have more money in their pockets.

The bottom line is that our tax-cut plan will benefit Colorado. President Trump and I call on all of Colorado’s representatives and senators to support our tax-cut plan.

Tax reform has brought both parties together before, and it should bring them together today. This is about doing what’s best for the Centennial State, and for all of America.

It’s a time-honored truth: When we cut taxes, we launch a new era of soaring incomes, more jobs, and a thriving middle class. John F. Kennedy proved it. Reagan proved it. And Trump will prove it again. We will pass a historic tax cut — and we will pass it this year.