Larry Kudlow, President Trump’s top economic adviser, expects Americans will see more benefits from the new tax law as the year progresses.
“We’re just getting started,” Kudlow, director of the National Economic Council, told CBS This Morning. “You’ve got child tax credits you’re doubling, the doubling of the standard deduction, you’ve got lower income tax rates, you’ve got lower business tax rates.”
American workers are benefiting from bigger paychecks due to lower tax rates, Kudlow said. Still, more than half of workers polled in February said they hadn’t noticed an increase in their paychecks, according to a POLITICO/Morning Consult poll. Only one-quarter of registered voters told the pollsters they had noticed an increase in their take-home pay.
Businesses have been the biggest beneficiary so far because the lower corporate tax rate is allowing them to invest, Kudlow said.
“The biggest winner right now is business investment,” he said. “That is huge. Equipment, technology, software and so forth, factories. That’s where the real nuts and bolts of this thing, the incentives at a lower business tax rate, both large and small.”
As for heightened concerns that President Trump’s protectionist rhetoric and proposals to boost import tariffs could spark a trade war between the U.S. and China, Kudlow said he’s “optimistic” the countries will resolve the conflict.
“Look, it’s certainly not a trade war,” he said. “I think of it as a trade dispute. I think both countries would like to settle this.”
He added, “Perhaps the two sides will be able to talk it through. Let’s see what happens. So far, though, the Chinese are coming back with more constructive reaction.”
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