[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 155 (Wednesday, September 27, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6179-S6180]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                               Tax Reform

  Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, one of the Senate Republicans' most 
important priorities for the rest of this year is passing comprehensive 
tax reform. Why? Because comprehensive tax reform is perhaps the single 
most important thing we can do to get our economy back on the path to 
long-term health. Comprehensive tax reform done right will boost jobs. 
It will increase wages. It will provide much needed tax relief for 
middle-income taxpayers and families. It will help businesses reinvest 
in their operations, employees, and new products. And most importantly, 
it will help us achieve strong, consistent economic growth.
  Over the past few weeks, leaders from the House, Senate, and White 
House have been meeting to develop the framework for the tax reform 
bill we will take up later this year. This morning, they unveiled that 
framework. The framework supports Republicans' five principles for tax 
reform: providing tax relief for the middle class; increasing wages, 
jobs, and economic growth;

[[Page S6180]]

keeping good-paying jobs here at home; increasing American 
competitiveness in the global economy; and simplifying the Tax Code.
  The framework released today emphasizes tax relief for the middle 
class.
  First and foremost, we are going to ensure that working families 
receive a much needed increase in take-home pay. Right now, 50 percent 
of families are living paycheck to paycheck, while one-third of people 
across this country say they are just $400 away from a financial 
crisis. That is not acceptable.
  Our tax reform plan will ensure that these families are no longer 
left behind. Our plan will increase the standard deduction, which will 
provide tax relief to those families who need it the most. It will also 
enhance the child tax credit, and I don't need to tell anyone that the 
important work of raising a family is getting more and more expensive. 
It is time for hard-working families to get a break with a larger child 
tax credit. Finally, we will be lowering the rates on middle-class 
families. By collapsing the seven income tax brackets to three, we will 
ensure that working families get to keep more of what they earn.
  Second, our tax plan will increase wages, jobs, and economic growth 
by lowering taxes and improving cost recovery for American businesses 
and job creators. The framework released today lays out a goal of a 20-
percent corporate tax rate. Right now, our corporate tax rate is the 
highest in the developed world. Our competitors pay an average rate of 
22.5 percent, while U.S. companies face a 35-percent tax rate. That is 
a big problem. Our uncompetitive tax rate has driven companies to move 
their headquarters and jobs overseas and led to wage stagnation and a 
lack of opportunity for American workers. Lowering the corporate rate 
will create jobs and increase wages for working families across the 
country.
  An equally important priority laid out in the framework is lower tax 
rates for small businesses, farms, and ranches. Like bigger businesses, 
small businesses--from partnerships to S corporations--currently face 
high tax rates, at times even exceeding those paid by large 
corporations. Lowering tax rates for these businesses and creating a 
new maximum passthrough rate will allow a business to reinvest more of 
its earnings in successful operations. In short, it will help these job 
creators thrive. The Republican tax plan will also allow for 
unprecedented expensing. Allowing small businesses to recover their 
costs more quickly will free up capital and allow them to grow and to 
create jobs.
  The framework released today also shows how we are going to meet our 
goal of making America more competitive and keeping those good-paying 
jobs here at home. A key part of keeping good-paying jobs here at home 
is making the United States an attractive place to do business by 
reforming our outdated worldwide tax system. Having a worldwide tax 
system means that American companies pay U.S. taxes on the profit they 
make here at home as well as on some or all of the profit they make 
abroad, once they bring that money back to the United States. The 
problem with this is that American companies are already paying taxes 
to foreign governments on the money they make abroad. Then, when they 
bring that money home, they too often end up having to pay taxes again 
on part of those profits and at the highest tax rate in the 
industrialized world. It is no surprise that this discourages 
businesses from bringing their profits back to the United States to 
invest in their domestic operations, new jobs, and increased wages.
  Between 1983 and 2003, when the U.S. tax rate was much more 
competitive with those of other countries, there were 29 corporate 
inversions where U.S. companies moved abroad. Between 2003 and 2014, 
when other countries were dropping their corporate tax rates and 
shifting to territorial tax systems, there were 47 such inversions.
  Our tax plan addresses this drag on our economy by moving from our 
outdated worldwide tax system to a territorial tax system. By shifting 
to a territorial tax system here in the United States--a move, I might 
add, that is supported by Members of both parties--we will eliminate 
the double taxation that encourages companies to send their investments 
and their operations overseas. Combine that with a reduction in our 
high corporate tax rate, and we can provide a strong incentive for U.S. 
companies to invest their profits at home in American jobs and American 
workers instead of abroad.
  We will also simplify our Tax Code. Each year, Americans spend 2.6 
billion hours filling out complicated individual tax forms. Not only is 
this a drag on our economy, it is an annual frustration and burden for 
hard-working families. The goal of our tax reform plan is to let 
American families complete their taxes on something as simple as a 
postcard.
  Lower rates, fewer tax brackets, and a generally simplified code will 
end the complicated mess that too many families face every tax season.
  We will continue to develop the details of this framework in the 
coming weeks as we work toward a final draft of our comprehensive tax 
reform bill. I look forward to collaborating with my colleagues in the 
Senate Finance Committee as we work to put our country on the path 
toward long-term economic health and the jobs, increased wages, and 
opportunities that come along with it.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Oregon.
  Mr. INHOFE. Will the Senator yield?
  Mr. WYDEN. I will be happy to.
  Mr. INHOFE. I ask unanimous consent that at the conclusion of the 
remarks from my friend from Oregon, Senator Wyden, that I be recognized 
for such time as I shall consume.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The Senator from Oregon.