Dupage Policy Journal

For evidence of whether President Trump’s 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act is helping everyday citizens of Illinois’ Sixth District, one need only to look at recent testimony on Capitol Hill.

As a member of the House Ways and Means Committee, U.S. Rep. Peter Roskam (R-IL) invited several business owners from his district to speak before his colleagues about the changes they’ve seen since the measure was passed late last year.

“We’ve booked as much revenue as we did the entire last year … and we’re only in the second quarter,” Constituent Zach Mottl, owner of Atlas Tool & Die in Chicago, said.

Molt’s testimony was released in a press release from Roskam’s office and can be found on YouTube along with other testimony.

The new law reduced tax rates, increased the IRS standard deduction and created the Family Credit, an expansion of the existing Child Tax Credit, and more, according to a November 2017 release from House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI).

In the wake of the bill’s passage, some national companies issued well-publicized bonuses to their employees. Participating companies included AT&T, Bank of America, Comcast and Walmart, as ConservativeActionNews.com reported.

Mottl told Roskam his firm had followed suit, increasing the 401(k) contribution to workers.

“But I think the bigger picture, the long-term picture, is the wage growth,” he said. “We’re in a skilled workforce shortage here … I am desperate to not only keep the employees that I have, which means I need to pay them more … I also need to raise wages to hire good people.”

Roskam’s press release mentioned unemployment had fallen to 3.8 percent after the Trump tax cuts, the lowest in nearly two decades.

“Businesses are thriving, the economy is growing and families are looking forward to simpler filing and bigger refunds — and this is only the beginning,” Roskam said. “We’re going to continue to see the benefits of these tax cuts manifest in our communities and reflected in our economy. This is the tax code the American people deserve.”