EXCLUSIVE – Senator Rand Paul: Let’s Cut Taxes Now!

I’m just old enough to remember when Republicans used to be for tax cuts. Oh sure, many of them will make noises about lowering some taxes, but too often they are caught up in the trap of so-called “revenue neutral tax reform”. This is especially true of Congressional leaders.

We owe it to the American people and to our party to go big and be bold again. We owe it to them to stop the coma-inducing Washington talk that never seems to shrink government or deficits.

I like to tell people, no one has ever knocked a door or made a phone call because they were excited about ‘revenue neutral’ tax reform. By its very nature it means that some people will pay less, but some people will pay more and government will still be the same enormous beast it was before we started the process.

That’s not good enough!

One of the things I liked about Donald Trump’s campaign was that he ran on a big, bold tax plan, that cut taxes for every American, and it was NOT revenue neutral. The government would get less money and every American would keep more.

That’s the kind of plan I ran on too, and it’s the kind of plan we in Congress should quickly rally behind as we start our new session and the new Administration. 

We have tried it before. In fact, the most successful Republican Presidents (and a few Democrats) led off their agendas with tax cuts, to send money back and to try to get government to live with a little less. 

President Reagan famously led with a massive tax cut that stimulated the economy for years, leading to 4-7 percent growth through most of his term. The administration and Congress failed to get spending under control, a lesson we need to remember.  But their tax cut and pro-growth agenda led to a boom, and millions of new jobs.

President Bush did a more modest but still significant tax cut in his first year. Both growth and job creation jump started. 

Now it’s time to help President Elect Trump do the same. I met recently with his nominee for Treasury Secretary, and I’m confident he and President-elect Trump understand the need to cut taxes for everyone and to jump start growth again. The difference between 1-2 percent and 3-4 percent growth is enormous, including millions of good jobs.

Let’s not give in to Washington and its stagnated ways. Let’s follow the lead of Presidents Reagan and Bush and help President Trump begin his administration with tax cuts for everyone, and less money in Washington.