ESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP’S HISTORIC TAX CUTS ARE DELIVERING REAL SAVINGS AND CREATING MORE OPPORTUNITY FOR ALL AMERICANS

Office of the Press Secretary FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 15, 2019 PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP’S HISTORIC TAX CUTS ARE DELIVERING REAL SAVINGS AND CREATING MORE OPPORTUNITY FOR ALL AMERICANS “There has never been a better time to start living the American Dream.” – President Donald J. Trump  PROVIDING A HELPING HAND TO MIDDLE-INCOME FAMILIES: President Trump’s tax cuts are providing a boost to middle-income families. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) cut taxes for the middle class and boosted the Child Tax Credit to provide a helping hand to American families.     The TCJA included $5.5 trillion in gross tax cuts, nearly 60 percent of which goes to families. The TCJA will provide more than $2,000 in tax cuts in 2018 for an average family of four with an income of $75,000. The TCJA nearly doubled the standard deduction, allowing middle-income families to exempt more of their income from taxes.    The TCJA doubled the Child Tax Credit from $1,000 to $2,000 per child and made the credit available to more middle-income families. The new law also increases the refundable portion of the credit. Families can now use 529 Savings Accounts to pay for qualified elementary and secondary education expenses, helping to increase their options for their children’s education. To ensure families get the help they deserve, the TCJA preserved provisions such as the child and dependent care credit, the adoption tax credit, retirement savings tax benefits, and more.  Families facing costly medical bills benefited from the expanded medical expense deduction.  At least 100 utility companies across the country announced plans to cut rates in response to the tax cuts.    PUTTING MORE MONEY IN WORKERS’ POCKETS: The TCJA has led to higher wages, increased benefits, big bonuses, and new employment opportunities for workers.   More than 6 million workers received pay raises, bonuses, or increased retirement contributions thanks to the President’s tax cuts.  More than 4 million workers received direct bonuses. Nearly 200 companies announced wage increases due to the TCJA, including Walmart, the largest private employer in the Nation.   In addition to keeping more of their hard earned money thanks to the tax cuts, workers are seeing their wages rise. Year-over-year nominal wage growth has now been at or above 3 percent for 8 straight months.     Low-income workers are seeing their wages rise faster than anyone else. Businesses are creating more and more jobs, generating record numbers of employment opportunities for workers and driving unemployment down to historic lows.    More than 3 million jobs have been created since President Trump signed the TCJA into law. There were a record high 7.6 million job openings available to workers in November 2018 and openings continue to far exceed the number of job seekers. For the first time in recorded history, there have been more job openings than unemployed workers for 12 straight months.  The unemployment rate has been at or below 4 percent for the past 13 months, the longest such streak in nearly five decades. The unemployment rates for Hispanic-Americans, African-Americans, and Asian-Americans all fell to their lowest rates on record. The unemployment rate for women dropped to a near 65 year low last year.  LAUNCHING A BUSINESS BOOM: America is open for business again thanks to President Trump’s historic tax cuts.  The tax cuts have reignited America’s economic engine, generating 3 percent real gross domestic product (GDP) growth through the four quarters of 2018. Real GDP grew by 3 percent from the fourth quarter of 2017 to the fourth quarter of 2018, the fastest such growth in a calendar year since 2005. The TCJA leveled the playing field for American businesses by lowering the statutory corporate tax rate from one of the highest in the developed world.  Businesses poured investment back into the United States following the tax cuts, repatriating more than half a trillion dollars held overseas in 2018 alone. The TCJA allowed businesses to immediately and fully deduct the cost of new capital investments, enabling them to invest more in their own operations.  The tax cuts and capital investment deduction have been a boost for America’s manufacturers, leading to record high manufacturer optimism in 2018. The TCJA provided much needed tax relief for America’s small businesses by letting certain pass through entities deduct 20 percent of their qualified business income.   As a result, small business optimism skyrocketed to a record high last year according to a survey by the National Federation of Independent Business.  LIFTING UP FORGOTTEN COMMUNITIES: The TCJA created Opportunity Zones to bring investment and opportunity to communities that have been left behind.   Opportunity Zones utilize tax incentives to spur investment in low-income communities.   Those who invest in Opportunity Zones through qualified funds will be able to defer taxation on their capital gains, with the benefits increasing over time. This structure will help promote the long-term investments these communities need. These incentives are an incredible vehicle to help foster economic revitalization and job growth in struggling communities. More than 8,700 communities across the country have been designated as opportunity zones and will see new investment and growth as a result. Nearly 35 million Americans live in communities designated as Opportunity Zones.  These communities have an average poverty rate of over 32 percent and an unemployment rate 1.6 times higher than average.  Opportunity Zones are anticipated to generate $100 billion in private capital investment.