Oct. 18 (UPI) — President Donald Trump spoke at the Heritage Foundation’s President’s Club Meeting in Washington, D.C. Tuesday night and touted his tax reform plan to the conservative think tank.
Trump called for a corporate tax cut from the current 35 percent rate “all the way down to not more than 20 percent. The president also said his tax reform plan will provide tax relief for middle class Americans and he wants the tax code to be simplified enough that families will be able to do their taxes on a single sheet of paper.
“At the heart of our plans is a tax cut for everyday, working Americans,” he said.
Trump urged the Heritage Foundation members to pressure Congress to pass his tax reform plan and promised it will result in economic growth.
“You will see things happen like have never happened before. We will have employment, we will have jobs… and we certainly won’t have companies leaving our country,” he said.
Speaking to a conservative crowd with the Christmas season just weeks away, Trump also tied in his tax reform effort with the holiday.
“Lets give our country the best Christmas present of all: massive tax relief and you’re gonna be saying Merry Christmas again,” he said.
Trump also touched on some of the cultural issues of the day. Responding to athletes kneeling protesting against police brutality during the national anthem, the president said “the flag should be treated with reverence and respect.”
Trump also responded to efforts to change Columbus Day to a day of recognition for indigenous Americans.
“We believe we should preserve our history, not tear it down. Now they’re even trying to destroy statues of Christopher Columbus, what’s next? It has to be stopped. It’s heritage,” he said.
Although Trump’s speech mainly focused on tax reform and conservative wedge issues, he also took time to commend Sens. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., and Patty Murray, D-Wash. for the bipartisan solution to temporarily stabilize federal funding under the Affordable Care Act.
But Trump reiterated that it would be a short-term fix and again urged Congress to find a permanent solution.
