1600 Daily: Everything White House 12/21/17
Want to know more about tax cuts? Here are the facts.
With news yesterday that Congress passed the first overhaul of the U.S. tax system in more than three decades, many Americans want to know what the final bill means for them.
Here are the key provisions to understand and share with your loved ones:
- The Tax Cuts Act means less money taken out of Americans’ paychecks.It provides $5.5 trillion in tax cuts by doubling the standard deduction, doubling the child tax credit, protecting tax savings for higher education and retirement, and lowering rates across the board.
- The bill puts American businesses on a level playing field with foreign competitors. America’s corporate tax rate will go from being the highest in the developed world to below the average for Organization of Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries.
- The act will eliminate dozens of special interest tax breaks and loopholes. It tosses out a loophole used to deduct compensation for executives earning more than $1 million a year. Washington isn’t spared, either: Members of Congress will no longer be able to deduct living expenses.
Read more about what tax cuts have to do with making America great.
‘We broke every record’
President Donald J. Trump joined members of Congress for a ceremony on the White House South Lawn yesterday after the Tax Cuts Act passed both chambers on Capitol Hill. “We broke every record,” President Trump said. “$3.2 trillion—just think of it—in tax cuts for American families.”
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell cited tax cuts as just the latest victory in “a year of extraordinary accomplishment for the Trump Administration.” His list included cementing “the Supreme Court right-of-center for a generation” and halting the overregulation of the U.S. economy.
The final Cabinet meeting of 2017
At his ninth and final Cabinet meeting of 2017, President Trump and members of the Cabinet showcased record achievements over the past year. A few of the highlights:
- Defense Secretary Jim Mattis gave the President high marks for his National Security Strategy, which puts the safety and security of America first.
- Attorney General Jeff Sessions reported on efforts to combat the opioid crisis, ending sanctuary jurisdiction policies, and prioritizing criminal immigration enforcement.
- Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke announced that the United States has opened 150,000 acres of public land to hunting and fishing.
- Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross highlighted the more than $650 billion in deals signed during the President’s trips to Saudi Arabia and China.
Read the full list of accomplishments by department.
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