Republicans found common ground on tax reform: Paul Ryan
During an interview on FOX Business, House speaker Paul Ryan told Maria Bartiromo, even though the border adjustment tax is no longer on the table, Republicans have found common ground on tax reform.
"What I and other House leaders who have been pushing the Border Adjustment I still think it’s the way to go. I think that’s the right kind of tax reform plan," Ryan said on Friday. "But if it’s going to stop us getting to consensus to get tax reform done, then we don’t want that to happen."
He said tax reform is critical to economic growth and three percent growth is achievable through lower tax rates and a territorial system.
"You can’t get to three percent growth, in my opinion, without tax reform. That is why this is so important. That’s why we all agree," he said.
Ryan sees an opportunity to raise revenues by broadening the tax base.
"We believe we need to clear out loopholes and deductions, carve-outs, special interest giveaways, so that we can lower tax rates for everybody across the board; for businesses, for families," he said.
For families, that means prioritizing things like charities, retirement savings and mortgages but also raising the standard deduction.
"We also think by raising the standard exemption for families, we can dramatically simplify the code. Most people don’t even have to itemize their deductions; they can have a postcard-type tax form," he said.
For businesses, implementing a territorial system would bring two to three trillion dollars back into the U.S.
"Our corporate rate is 35 percent. The top past three tax rates, 44.6 percent and the average tax rate on businesses in the industrialized world, 22.5 percent. That is making us absolutely uncompetitive. We know we have to get those rates down," he said.