Jeb Bush Campaign Press Release - Jeb Bush: My Economic Plan Would Help Michigan

I recently had the good fortune to visit Michigan and discuss my ideas for strengthening our nation and creating new economic opportunities for working families.

As a candidate for president, my top priority is to ignite a period of strong, 4 percent economic growth that will lift up the middle class, which hasn't received a pay raise in 15 years. The centerpiece of my economic agenda is a bold tax reform proposal that will allow families to keep more of their hard-earned money and make American businesses, especially manufacturers, more competitive.

The centerpiece of my economic agenda is a bold tax reform proposal that will allow families to keep more of their hard-earned money and make American businesses, especially manufacturers, more competitive.

For taxpayers, my plan would consolidate the seven current brackets into three — at 28 percent, 25 percent and 10 percent. We would eliminate many of the carve outs, loopholes and special interests provisions in the tax code that benefit the politically connected who can hire the best tax lawyers and lobbyists. Under my plan, a family of four with income under $40,000 would no longer pay federal income taxes and the average middle class family will receive a tax reduction of approximately $2,000. A family of four earning the median family income would see a 40 percent reduction in their annual tax bill.

Allowing families to keep more of their hard-earned money will lighten their burdens and accelerate our economic growth. There is no doubt that this additional money in their pocketbooks will be better spent, saved or invested than if it were shipped off to Washington, D.C.

For employers, my tax reform plan would cut the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 20 percent. Right now, U.S. businesses pay the highest corporate taxes in the developed world. Under my plan, the rate American job providers pay would fall to 5 percentage points less than China's top tax rate, ensuring that American workers will be more competitive and that good-paying manufacturing jobs can be created in large numbers again in our nation. To further promote economic growth, my tax reform plan would allow businesses to receive full expensing when they invest in new equipment rather than deal with the complicated depreciation system that exists today.

Taken together, my reform proposals, which are the boldest since Ronald Reagan upended the tax code in 1986, will put our nation on the path to 4 percent economic growth, 19 million new jobs and rising wages for the middle class.

Hillary Clinton and others on the defeatist left are already attacking my plan because it threatens the big government status quo they so feverishly defend. Clinton and her allies refuse to believe that we can do better than the new normal of 2 percent growth that has produced one of the weakest recoveries in U.S. history, the lowest workforce participation rate in 38 years and a $2,000 decline in middle class family incomes under President Barack Obama.

I know America can do better if we cut taxes, streamline regulations and make it easier for businesses to compete. This isn't a theoretical exercise. One has to look no further than the example we set in Florida during my eight years as governor. We cut taxes every year by a total of $19 billion. We took on the trial lawyers to pass meaningful legal reform. And we reformed workers' compensation to make our small businesses more competitive. The results speak for themselves. Florida led the nation in job creation during the final seven years of my administration. We led the nation in small business creation and 1.3 million net new jobs were created as middle class incomes rose by $1,300.

As president of the United States, I will work hard to fix our convoluted tax system, restore common sense to federal regulations and harness the power of the energy revolution to bring manufacturing back to America. It is simply unacceptable that millions of Americans are trapped in low-paying jobs or can't even find a job.

If we fix a few big things, this can truly be the best time to be alive in American history. We are on the verge of our greatest century and I have the ideas and leadership skills to make America an economic superpower again.

Originally posted on The Detroit News