WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) spoke on the Senate Floor about the need to pass tax reform for the American people.
“Along the way we are going to have our challenges because everybody in Washington is for tax reform and tax relief. They’ll come into your office and tell you, ‘let’s get it going except for that one righteous exemption that I may need.’ We need to have the courage to pass tax reform that helps working families, creates jobs, and silences the people that want to take this exemption or that exemption away so we do what’s right for the people that need a job. It’s going to take courage, discipline, and time. We have to get it done. We promised the American people last year that if we had majorities that we would do what we had to do to deliver on this promise. And it can be done.”
“Back in 2011, I was in my third term, Republicans got a majority, and I became Speaker of the House. It was reported to me that we had a $2.5 billion structural deficit, we had the fourth highest unemployment rate in the nation, and we had six months to figure out how to balance the budget. In the first six months that we were in the majority, we cut the sales tax and made changes to the corporate tax and income tax that took North Carolina from the 44th most taxed state now down to 12th. It was one of the worst-growing economies and now it ranks in the top five in the nation. We’ve created over 250,000 jobs and put North Carolina on the map by all measures. We got people back to work.”
“So when we get into this argument, don’t take the bait by some people who say we’re focusing on corporate taxes— that somehow I’m a guy in a suit that’s just trying to help out a business. Who that is, is a guy who has worked his way from that trailer park and is now in the United States Senate, a guy who benefited when Congress had the courage to reduce taxes and get the economy back on track. That’s what we better do. That’s what we promised. That’s what we’re here to do and now is the time to get it done.”
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