Exclusive — Rand Paul: Real Men Cut Taxes

Exclusive — Rand Paul: Real Men Cut Taxes

Real men (as well as pull-no-punches women) cut taxes. The lesser mortals that tend to inhabit Washington wring their hands and get all weak in the knees when it comes to cutting taxes. Rumors are President Trump will propose a real tax cut. I certainly hope so.

Once upon a time, most Republicans believed in tax cuts. Somewhere along the way, inside the beltway especially, Republicans forgot about the benefits of cutting taxes. Republicans became more concerned with government keeping “its” revenue than letting the people keep their money.

Too many Republican have become timid about tax cuts, often spouting the milquetoast line of “revenue neutral tax cuts.”

Let me translate that little bit of Washington-speak for you. “Revenue neutral” tax cuts aren’t really tax cuts. It’s more like tax shifting. Some will pay more. Some will pay less. And the net effect will be that government will collect the same amount of taxes.

If revenue neutral tax shifting is what Republicans stand for, maybe it’s time we re-evaluated what we really stand for.

What will “revenue neutral” tax cut mean to your business? Well, that may depend on how expensive your lobbyist is. Which side of the “revenue-neutral” ledger you wind up on may depend on how well the skids are greased, hardly, a pleasant scenario to anticipate.

I believe as John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan did, that the best way to stimulate our economy, promote job growth, and give our ailing middle class a raise is to cut taxes for all.

I know Donald Trump believes this too, because he said so often during the campaign, and as a job creator himself, he knows that lower taxes and less regulation are the keys to more jobs.

This week, we are expected to hear the beginnings of the Trump Tax Reform plan. I, for one, urge the President to stick to his guns and not to preemptively surrender to the establishment in Congress and to offer real, meaningful cuts to individuals and businesses, across all income levels.

It is likely the single most important thing he will do in his first year in office to determine our economic growth over the next several years. Our economy has grown at an anemic two percent average over the last 15 years. Historically, it has been nearly double that. We have lost more than three TRILLION dollars in GDP to this anemic growth, according to economist Stephen Moore.

We cannot allow this to continue, so I urge the President to go big and bold.

But also to go simple.

As he has likely already seen, people often try to make things to complicated or clever up here in Congress. Obamacare repeal is a great example. So, learning from that lesson, let’s make this simple.

We don’t need hundreds of special interests grabbing for goodies. We won’t need 2,000-page bills.

We need a big, bold tax cut. My suggestions from among the ideas that I have championed and Donald Trump ran on are simple. First, cut the corporate tax rate. Ours is now the highest in the world at 35 percent. We should immediately cut it to 15 percent or less, putting us in line with other countries. Money and business go where they’re welcome, and right now, that’s not the United States. We can change that, and do it easily, while creating millions of new jobs. At that low rate, we can also eliminate deductions and loopholes, and make the tax simple and fair.

American regulatory and tax treatment of business has in recent years led to major corporations moving overseas or leaving their overseas profits offshore. Currently, they are double taxed, with a 35 percent penalty for bringing this money home. I authored a bipartisan bill last year to allow repatriation of that capital at 6.5 percent, bringing home as much as 2 trillion in capital for job growth, and increased revenue. (My bill would direct that revenue into an infrastructure fund).

Finally, we must make sure every income level receives a cut, and that small businesses organized under various parts of the tax code get the benefit of the corporate tax cut.

I’m hoping the President has learned three things from his Obamacare repeal experience. First, work with the true fiscal conservatives in Congress to come up with a great tax plan. Second, keep it simple, and make sure everyone in America will both know and see the benefits. Finally, remember who elected you, and heed this advice – no one ever knocked doors or made phone calls for “revenue neutral tax reform.” If you want to drain the swamp, you have to take away money from Washington, and send it back to the people.

I stand ready to cut taxes for every American and get our economy moving again.