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The White House鈥檚 senior adviser on economic affairs outlined what Arizona businesses can expect if President Donald Trump is re-elected during an event sponsored by the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Arizona Bankers Association last week. 

The nation鈥檚 top economic adviser, Larry Kudlow, also urged the business community here to reject Arizona鈥檚 Proposition 208 tax increase. 

Pushing Arizona鈥檚 income tax rates higher during the pandemic would be foolish timing, said Kudlow, the assistant to the president for economic policy and the director of the National Economic Council. 

鈥淲hile men and women are returning to work, this is not the time to raise taxes,鈥� said Kudlow,  who leads the coordination of the president鈥檚 domestic and global economic policy agenda.

Unwise timing for a hike in income tax rates聽

If passed, the so-called 鈥淚nvest in Ed鈥� proposition will raise the state鈥檚 top income tax rate by 77.7 percent, making Arizona鈥檚 top income tax rate higher than every other state in the West except California, and one of the ten-highest nationwide. 

鈥淲e are coming out of a pandemic contraction. We do not want to be removing money from the economy,鈥� Kudlow warned. 

Higher income tax rates would erode Arizona鈥檚 economic edge at a critical time. Right now, Arizona is seen as a desirable location to live, play and do business. 

鈥淎rizona鈥檚 personal and business taxes have been moderate down the years. It鈥檚 a hot sunbelt state and you don鈥檛 want to destroy that story,鈥� he said.  

Data speaks to successes聽

During the event, Kudlow detailed Trump鈥檚 platform for the economy moving forward, the administration鈥檚 successes so far, and efforts to help those still struggling from pandemic disruptions including small businesses, the airline industry and the unemployed. 

One only has to look at data from the U.S. Census Bureau, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Federal Reserve to count the success of the administration鈥檚 economic policies over the past four years, he said.

Prior to the pandemic, the standard of living went up for the first time in 20 years, corporate and individual income taxes dropped, and regulatory red tape was reduced, Kudlow said. 

鈥淚nequity fell, poverty fell, unemployment fell, the living standard rose and family income rose,鈥� he said.

Platform forward would be a repeat of past four years聽

Basically, the economic plan for the next term would be a repeat of the White House鈥檚 guiding principles the past four years, he said. 

鈥淭hat is, lowering business taxes across the board, lowering individual taxes, and rolling back costly and burdensome regulations,鈥� Kudlow said.

Keeping the economy open and reopening schools while practicing all the lessons learned about masking, social distancing and hygiene is a top priority, he said. 

Also high on the list are investment in new technology advances in energy, particularly in natural gas fracking and horizontal drilling, and the brokering of 鈥渂etter鈥� global trade deals to mimic the success of the new free trade agreement, the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). 

Good news for full economic recovery聽

A rash of economic indicators show that the pandemic recovery will be V-shaped, Kudlow said. A V-shape recovery is characterized by a quick and sustained recovery in measures of economic performance after a sharp economic decline.

Currently, about 80 percent of the economy has recovered and about 50 percent of the unemployed are back to work, he said. Industry sectors like construction, auto sales and manufacturing, and certain retail sectors are seeing 鈥渂ooming鈥� growth. 

Meanwhile, unemployment is dropping. Since the country was shut down at the start of COVID-19, about 14 million workers are back to work, bringing unemployment down to 7.9 percent, he said.

CARES Act helped keep businesses, individuals afloat

Part of the recovery is due to the CARES Act economic stimulus package that was passed by Congress and signed by the president to help the country survive the shutdown.

About 12 million people are still unemployed, he said. Moving forward, Congress is trying to broker another package to help those still struggling. 

鈥淲e look at this (package) as being smart and targeted,鈥� Kudlow said. 鈥淭he other side sees this as a political and ideological wish list.鈥�

Nevertheless, the Republicans and the president are willing to 鈥渃ompromise and put up more dollars to make a deal.鈥�

Meanwhile, $139 billion from the act is still waiting to be allocated. Congressional members need to pass stand-alone bills to appropriate the funding to aid those still in need. 

President 鈥渞ewards success鈥�

In conclusion, Trump鈥檚 economic policies 鈥渉ave benefited those who need it most,鈥� Kudlow said. A vote for Trump will be a vote for America鈥檚 recovery. 

鈥淗e鈥檚 a president who wants to reward success and promote workers. Whereas my friends on the other side seem to always want to punish success.鈥�