Sen. Daines: Tax Cuts, Not Hikes, Make US Globally Competitive

The Biden administration's proposal to raise taxes and pass massive spending packages are no means to rebuild the nation's economy, as tax cuts help the U.S. stay globally competitive, Sen. Steve Daines said Monday. 

"(Tax cuts) create incentives to reinvest capital, grow businesses, create jobs, increase wages," the Montana Republican said on CNBC's "Squawk Box."

"The bottom line, Republicans want to drive more tax cuts. Workers win with that."

Data shows that wages went up as a result of the tax cuts former President Donald Trump pushed into place in 2019, Daines said, resulting in a 6.8% growth in median household income.

"That was the largest one-year growth in the history of the country," said Daines. "Notice, inversions stopped when we cut corporate rates."

He said a 28 percent corporate tax rate increase would "raise the U.S. federal combined rate by 32%."

"It's about global competitiveness," said Daines. "If we want to create jobs here in our country, we got to have competitive tax rates going from 21% to 28%. Remember, we were at 35%. That puts us at the highest (rate). That's not the right thing to do."

Democrats are not just looking at raising corporate tax rates, but state taxes and more as well, meaning that tax increases are being considered across the board. 

"We've pushed nearly $6 trillion of COVID-related spending in the last 12 months," he said. "Add another what, $3 trillion or more...this is a recipe that's going to take us to a bad place in our economy."

And with an evenly divided Senate and narrow margins in the House, the push for more spending and taxes "will be an interesting battle, but I can't support these massive spending increases, and what looks to be perhaps massive tax increases as well," said Daines. 

Biden will release details on his infrastructure plans during a speech on Wednesday in Pittsburgh. The issue has drawn some GOP support, but, they, like Daines, are concerned about another costly package coming on the heels of the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief plan. 

Democrats, though, want a broad package that includes policy changes on immigration, green energy, and more, leading their GOP counterparts to accuse them of pushing through a "Trojan horse" filled with progressive agenda items. 

A board infrastructure bill may also have difficulty passing the Senate without bipartisan support, even with Vice President Kamala Harris casting a tiebreaking vote, because Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., has said he will block an infrastructure bill that does not include input and support from Republicans. 

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