MARCO RUBIO: There's 'no evidence whatsoever' that Trump's tax bill has helped American workers by Bob Bryan on Apr 30, 2018, 1:46 PM 
- Republican Sen. Marco Rubio criticized the GOP's new tax law in an interview with the Economist.
- "There’s no evidence whatsoever that the money’s been massively poured back into the American worker," Rubio said of the tax cuts for corporations.
- Rubio introduced a proposal in 2015 that included similar provisions to the tax law.
Republican Sen. Marco Rubio told the Economist in an interview published Monday that the new GOP tax law so far isn't providing the boon to American workers that his party promised it would. In the run up to the tax bill's passage, Republicans argued that the lower corporate tax rate — it was cut to 21% from 35% — would save companies money that would in turn get invested in higher salaries and bonuses. Rubio, the Florida Republican and one-time primary challenger to President Donald Trump, suggested that hasn't yet come to fruition. "There is still a lot of thinking on the right that if big corporations are happy, they’re going to take the money they’re saving and reinvest it in American workers," Rubio said. "In fact they bought back shares, a few gave out bonuses; there’s no evidence whatsoever that the money’s been massively poured back into the American worker." The argument made by Rubio is nearly identical to the one made by Democrats. Instead of giving the savings to workers, Democrats say, corporations will simply reward shareholders through share buybacks and increased dividends. Rubio's comments were part of a push to distinguish himself as a champion of working-class Republicans. The Florida senator admitted to the Economist that he did not focus enough on workers during the 2016 campaign. "I spent a tremendous amount of time focused on the opportunities I had as the son of a bartender and a maid in the past century," Rubio said. "I didn't spend nearly enough time talking about what the bartender and the maid face today." The GOP tax law that was implemented this year includes similar ideas to a 2015 proposal from Rubio and fellow GOP Sen. Mike Lee. That proposed cutting the corporate tax rate to 25%. "Marco was the first Republican candidate in the 2016 cycle to propose a cash-flow business tax!" Kyle Pomerleau, director of federal projects at the Tax Foundation, tweeted. Rubio has praised the positive effects of the tax law, most recently during an event with Trump in Miami on April 16. "And I want to thank you for fighting for the American worker," Rubio said at a roundtable with local business leaders. "Work isn't just about money; it's about the dignity that comes with work," the senator added. "And they've been beat up and ignored for far too long. Whether it's taxes, whether it's jobs sent to other countries, this tax reform is about them." SEE ALSO: Trump's tax law already saved some of America's biggest corporations $13 billion this year
| 
0 comments:
Post a Comment