Rep. Steve Pearce touts federal tax reform, says businesses are growing

Las Cruces Sun-News (NM)

Feb. 20--LAS CRUCES -- U.S. Rep. Steve Pearce, R-N.M., visited Monday to announce a local business was expanding because of recently implemented federal tax reforms.

Pearce, speaking at Haciendas at Grace Village, an Alzheimer's and dementia care facility, touted the bill which was passed in December 2017. Pearce said the changes to the tax code were more sweeping than those passed during the administrations of Ronald Reagan and John F. Kennedy. Businesses are starting to pass the benefits on to employees, bring manufacturing jobs back to the U.S., and expand or reinvest in their operations, Pearce said.

Pearce, who is foregoing more time in Washington to run for governor, was the only New Mexico congressman to sign on to the $1.5 trillion tax package, the first major overhaul of our nation's tax laws since 1986.

Haciendas at Grace Village owner and CEO Gary Coppedge announced he will increase salaries and bonuses for employees, and is launching plans for a $3 million expansion that will create about 20 new full-time jobs.

"We have been struggling as small businesses in the United States for a while and a lot of the reason for that is because we give a lot of money back to the federal government for very little benefit," Coppedge said. "The new tax reform has allowed us to start planning our second phase for Haciendas at Grace Village. It has also allowed us to start planning for additional resources and training for our people and our staff."

Pearce noted the legislation was the first attempt at tax reform during his tenure in Congress, and said the process was lengthy. Moments after it passed, AT&T was the first major company to draw a link between the bill and benefits for workers. AT&T said it would give $1,000 bonuses to 200,000 employees and invest $1 billion in the U.S. next year.

But Larry Robbins, vice president of Communications Workers of America Local 4900, said AT&T was publicly forecasting employment growth while privately notifying employees they would be losing their jobs in the new year.

"We believe there's more than 4,000 people AT&T has (notified of layoffs) across the country," Robbins told indystar.com. "We believe the $1,000 bonus and the promise of 7,000 new jobs are all a publicity stunt."

Pearce said the business optimism can be seen nationally, including a January announcement by Fiat Chrysler Automobiles that it would move some production back from Mexico. Citing the new tax law, the company announced plans to invest more than $1 billion to modernize a Detroit production facility, adding 2,500 jobs and moving production of its Ram Heavy Duty trucks back to the U.S. by 2020. The company also announced $2,000 bonuses will be paid to 60,000 employees during the second quarter of this year.

Pearce also cited plans by Apple to bring back most of the $252 billion in cash it holds overseas, make a one-time tax payment of $38 billion and put some of the returned funds toward creating 20,000 jobs and a corporate campus.

The tax reform bill was bitterly panned by Democrats in Washington, who said the legislation would drive up the national debt and that the repeal of the individual mandate in the Affordable Care Act would harm lower and middle-class families.

Rep. Michelle Lujan Grisham, D-N.M., who, like Pearce, is running for governor, in December described the tax plan as "the most destructive and immoral piece of legislation I have voted against since serving in Congress."

Pearce on Monday said the tax reform measures will mean 90 percent of American workers will see more money in their paychecks due to decreased federal withholding. That portion of the legislation was "designed more for the people at the bottom end of the spectrum, not the top end," Pearce said, noting a small percentage increase in take-home pay has a larger impact on a low-wage state like New Mexico.

"A hundred bucks a month means as much here as 300 bucks means in say Washington, D.C. or in New York," Pearce said. Noting that the child tax credit doubled, Pearce added "We want the people who are struggling the most, maybe single moms making $30,00 a year, we wanted them to pay no taxes at all and that's what happened. We doubled the standard deduction from $12,000 to $24,000. So you don't even have to file your taxes if you make less than $24,000, $25,000. And you get the doubling of the credit so the people at the bottom, dollar-wise, are actually seeing tremendous benefits."

Small businesses, which Pearce said account for up to 70 or 80 percent of jobs in New Mexico, will also benefit from reduced regulations and from a measure that allows business owners to invest in upgrades and write off the investment in lieu of paying taxes. The corporate tax rate dropped from 35 percent to 21 percent.

"We're seeing manufacturers come back. We're seeing people with more money in their paycheck every week, every month. And the last piece of it, we're seeing companies reinvest," Pearce said.

Referring to past tax reform measures, those under the Reagan and Kennedy administrations, Pearce noted they continued to show benefits in the long-term.

"We found when we revitalize that economy in both of those tax plans, it was a 30-year boost," Pearce said. "We're not talking about something that's going to fade overnight. We're talking about systemic change in the entire country because of one bill we passed last year."

Jason Gibbs may be reached at 575-541-5451, [email protected] or @fjgwriter on Twitter.

___

Visit the Las Cruces Sun-News (Las Cruces, N.M.) at www.lcsun-news.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.