BURNSVILLE, Minn. — On Monday, President Donald Trump visited Nuss Truck and Equipment, a Minneapolis-area retailer of Mack trucks and Volvo construction equipment. The visit kicked off a weeklong public relations campaign the administration organized to raise awareness of the effects of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act on American taxpayers and the U.S. economy ahead of Trump’s 2020 reelection bid.
Trump was welcomed by dealer Bob Nuss and participated in an executive roundtable discussion in the dealership’s construction shop.
“You know, I used to stand up and say, ‘We’re going to cut your taxes.’ Well, we cut your taxes. Biggest tax cut in history. ‘We’re going to give you ANWR.’ I gave you ANWR,” Trump said, referring to his support of drilling for natural resources in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. “That hasn’t been done. Everyone has been trying to do that since Ronald Reagan.”
Trump said his administration’s policies saved Minnesotans a total of $5 billion in federal income tax in 2018 and helped the state add 7,500 new jobs in the mining, logging, and construction industries.
“And the average Minnesotan has seen an annual income gain of more than $1,700 since my election. So you’re up $1,700, and some are up tremendously more than that.”
The nonpartisan Tax Policy Center reported the middle one-fifth of U.S. income earners enjoyed an average tax cut of $1,090 in 2018 while the top 1% benefited by an average of $62,000. The U.S. Congressional Budget Office projected the federal deficit to hit $1 trillion by 2020 following a budget shortfall of $779 billion in 2018, a 17% increase from the prior year, partly as a result of reduced income tax revenue.
Although the TPC calculated about two-thirds of American taxpayers enjoyed some relief in 2018, polls conducted by Reuters/Ipsos in March and NBC/The Wall Street Journal in April found only 21% and 17% of respondents, respectively, believed their federal tax liability had been reduced.
