Curbelo Comments on House Passage of Historic Tax Reform Bill

Statement

Representative Carlos Curbelo (FL-26), South Florida's only representative on the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee, issued the following statements in English and Spanish regarding House passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act:

ENGLISH

"For years, lower- and middle-income Americans have been reading and hearing about the economic recovery without ever actually experiencing it. While some in our country have greatly benefited, others have been left behind. This is regrettably the case in South Florida. With today's passage of the Tax Cut and Jobs Act, we will be pushing economic opportunity deeper into our society and to every corner of our country. This legislation provides direct and immediate tax relief for individual Americans and American families by doubling the standard deduction and doubling the child tax credit to $2,000 per child with $1,400 being refundable for working families not earning enough to pay federal income taxes. In addition, all Americans will see lower rates. In the years immediately following passage of this bill, Americans earning between $20,000 and $30,000 will experience a 13.5 percent tax cut compared with an eight percent tax cut for the average American. The goal of tax reform was to help those who have been struggling to get by get ahead, this bill does that.

"On the business side, there is more good news. This legislation helps put an end to the exodus of American jobs and profits overseas. We're making our tax code more competitive and adopting anti-abuse provisions, to encourage companies from all over the world to move investments and operations to the United States, and we are preventing them from gaming the system to avoid paying their fair share. Additionally, we are taxing multinational corporations on over $2 trillion dollars in profits they have parked overseas. Those funds will now come home to the United States where they can be used to invest in workers, expand operations, and build new facilities.

"Like most pieces of legislation, this bill is not perfect. Like with any other broad, complex bill, there are provisions I would remove and others I would add. However, on the balance, this legislation will be good for our country. It will help all American workers, especially young people and immigrants who are seeking greater opportunities to grow and prosper. Most importantly, it gets us closer to fulfilling America's promise - that all who are willing to work hard and earn it can find their success in our country."

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