Trump says tax plan is fuelling US growth
Washington: President Donald Trump has declared that tax cuts and incentives for domestic production were boosting investment and jobs across the United States, arguing during a visit to Kentucky that his economic policies were helping American businesses expand and hire.
Speaking at First Logistics in Hebron, Kentucky, on Wednesday (local time), Trump said the family-owned company was expanding its operations as businesses responded to the administration’s economic policies.
The company, which employs about 2,600 people, is investing more than $10 million this year and plans to purchase new tractor-trailers and open warehouses in Texas and North Carolina.
Trump used the event to promote what he called the “great big beautiful bill”, describing it as the largest tax cut package in US history. He said the legislation included “no tax on overtime”, telling workers that “every extra hour you work, your overtime pay is now 100 per cent tax free.”
The President argued that tax incentives and equipment purchase deductions were encouraging companies to expand and hire more workers. “More people are working today in the USA than at any time in the history of our country,” he said.
Trump also pointed to a series of major manufacturing investments that he said demonstrated renewed industrial growth in the United States.
He cited a $2 billion domestic manufacturing investment by Thermo Fisher Scientific in Ohio and a $2 billion Ford Motor Company assembly plant in Louisville, Kentucky, expected to support more than 2,200 jobs.
Apple, he said, was investing heavily in US production, including plans to manufacture “100 per cent of the glass for iPhones and Apple Watches right here in Kentucky factories”. He added that GE Aerospace had announced a $1 billion investment in American manufacturing, including $115 million in nearby Cincinnati.
Trump linked the investment announcements to his tariff and economic policies, saying they were designed to encourage companies to build products in the United States rather than overseas.
The event also featured remarks from company executives and local workers who said the tax measures would increase their take-home income. A company executive said the overtime provision would produce “an average of $1,400 additional take-home pay per year per person” for employees.
Sami Biddle, a bartender and general manager at a distillery in Newport, Kentucky, said changes to taxes on tips and overtime had increased her tax refund and helped her move closer to buying land to build a home.
The speech, however, also took on a political tone as Trump urged supporters to back Republicans in upcoming elections and criticised Democrats for opposing the tax legislation.