Washington: The White House on Thursday said President Donald Trump’s tax policies have triggered stronger investment, higher employment and record tax refunds, arguing that the administration’s Working Families Tax Cuts continue to drive economic growth more than a year after becoming law.
Speaking at the daily White House briefing, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt described the legislation as a key pillar of Trump’s economic agenda and credited it with boosting American workers, manufacturers and small businesses.
“A little more than a year after President Trump signed the Working Families Tax Cuts into law, this historic legislation continues to deliver on its promise, unleashing a genuine boom for American workers, families and small businesses,” she said.
Leavitt said the latest tax filing season produced “the biggest tax refund season in American history”, with the average refund exceeding $3,400, representing an 11 per cent increase over the previous year.
According to the White House, American families and workers received $82 billion in direct tax relief, while 97 per cent of tax filers benefited from lower taxes.
Leavitt also highlighted several provisions of the law that the administration says have directly benefited workers.
She said more than 29 million workers claimed no tax on overtime pay, more than 35 million senior citizens paid no tax on Social Security benefits and nearly eight million workers claimed no tax on tips.
The administration also argued that permanent tax incentives for businesses are encouraging companies to expand manufacturing operations in the United States.
Leavitt cited a report released this week by the National Association of Manufacturers, saying it showed the tax cuts were supporting “investment, job creation, innovation and long-term growth in all 50 states.”
She pointed to several companies as examples of the policy’s impact.
Pivot Manufacturing in Arizona made “the largest equipment purchase in company history” after the tax cuts provided long-term certainty for investment, she said.
Winton Machine Company in Georgia is “on pace for the best year in its history”, while Catchy Ink in North Carolina purchased new machinery and expanded its workforce by 25 per cent.
Leavitt also said Jergens in Ohio expanded a new production facility and increased employee pay through the administration’s no-tax-on-overtime policy.
“These are not just great statistics,” she said.
“These are American businesses with the confidence to grow, hire and invest right here at home, rather than offshoring their jobs.”
She argued that expanding domestic manufacturing creates better-paying jobs and strengthens economic opportunities for American families.
“A business opening or expanding in this country means more opportunity and higher wages for American workers,” Leavitt said. “It means a chance for the American dream for young families, and it means restoring the belief that we can make and build things right here at home.”
Leavitt also criticised congressional Democrats for opposing the legislation.
“When they had the chance to vote for the largest middle-class tax cuts in history, they refused,” she said.
According to the White House, Democratic opposition would have resulted in “the largest tax increase in history” amounting to $4 trillion and would have increased taxes for 90 per cent of Americans.
“That’s the Democrat solution to affordability,” she said. “It is raising your taxes.”
The administration has made tax relief and domestic manufacturing central themes of its economic agenda, arguing that lower taxes encourage business investment and job creation. Democrats have generally challenged those claims, arguing that tax reductions disproportionately benefit higher-income earners and increase federal deficits.
(IANS)
