National Archives This is historical material “frozen in time”. The website is no longer updated and links to external websites and some internal pages may not work.

“The enactment of a comprehensive overhaul – complete with a lower corporate tax rate – will ignite our economy with levels of growth not seen in generations.”

An open letter to Congress signed by 137 economists supporting GOP tax reform bill

The RATE Coalition

CNBC

November 29, 2017

Economic growth will accelerate if the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act passes, leading to more jobs, higher wages, and a better standard of living for the American people. If, however, the bill fails, the United States risks continued economic underperformance.

In today’s globalized economy, capital is mobile in its pursuit of lower tax jurisdictions. Yet, in that worldwide race for job-creating investment, America is not economically competitive.

Here’s why: Left virtually untouched for the last 31 years, our chart-topping corporate tax rate is the highest in the industrialized world and a full fifteen percentage points above the OECD average.

The question isn’t whether American workers are hurt by our country’s corporate tax rate – it’s how badly. As such, the question isn’t whether workers will be helped by a corporate tax rate reduction – it’s how much.

The enactment of a comprehensive overhaul – complete with a lower corporate tax rate – will ignite our economy with levels of growth not seen in generations. A twenty percent statutory rate on a permanent basis would, per the Council of Economic Advisers, help produce a GDP boost “by between 3 and 5 percent.”

We firmly believe that a competitive corporate rate is the key to an economic engine driven by greater investment, capital stock, business formation, and productivity – all of which will yield more jobs and higher wages.

Read the full letter here.