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President Donald Trump’s Fiscal Year 2018 budget proposal released today is a conservative blueprint to reverse the nation’s frail fiscal state, enact tax reform, and grow the economy.

“Trump starts by respecting taxpayers. Trump’s budget shows that he realizes every dollar being spent by Washington is first earned by American workers and then taken from them,” said Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform.  “Spending wisely, ripping out wasteful, duplicative and counterproductive spending programs, is step one. The budget blueprint, titled ‘The New Foundation for American Greatness’ is a dramatic U-turn from the policies of the last administration. The proposal will ensure that the federal government lives within its means, programs are run efficiently, and taxpayer dollars are responsibly spent,” said Norquist.

Highlights of the budget include:

– Reduces IRS budget by $239 million

Demands tax reform, not tax increases: The Trump Budget calls for desperately needed tax reform that simplifies the code, promotes economic growth, and allows businesses to compete and innovate. Specifically, the Trump budget calls for a 15 percent rate on corporations and small businesses, drastic tax cuts and simplification for families, elimination of the death tax and AMT, and territoriality for businesses operating overseas.

This proposal is in stark contrast to the budget proposals from President Obama in the past eight years, which were replete with tax increases. In his last year alone, Obama proposed a net $3.4 trillion over a decade including a $320 billion energy tax for wasteful new spending on bullet trains and self-driving cars. This would increase federal taxes to the point where they are 20 percent of the economy, far above historical averages.

– Calls for strong economic growth: The policies in Trump’s budget call for strong economic growth of three percent. Over the past decade, the economy has struggled at just two percent GDP growth as the country has experienced the worst recovery in the modern era.  While the post-World War II average remains at three percent GDP growth per year, the Congressional Budget Office projects that under current policies, two percent growth will continue into the next decade.

Strong growth is also the best way to balance the budget, as every 0.1 percent in growth can result in $315 billion in federal revenue over the next decade. The Trump budget does this, instead of relying on higher taxes that suppress economic growth and hurt American families.

Cuts Wasteful Spending Programs: The Trump budget addresses Washington overspending by reducing spending by $3.6 trillion over the next decade.

The budget takes aim at unnecessary federal agencies to ensure states are able to set policies that best fit their needs, free from unelected federal bureaucrats:

– Cuts the EPA by 31 percent.
– Cuts the Department of Agriculture by 21 percent.
– Cuts the Department of Commerce by 16 percent.
– Cuts the Department of Education by 13 percent.

Enacts Welfare Reform: The Trump budget calls for welfare reform that ensures finite federal resources are well spent and encourages able-bodied individuals to return to the workforce. The budget tightens eligibility of SNAP, EITC, and the child tax credit to cut down on waste and abuse.

 

Photo Credit: Gage Skidmore