Young: Tax Day Marks New Beginning for Hardworking Hoosiers

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Todd Young (R-Ind.) spoke on the Senate floor regarding Tax Day and the very last time Americans will file their taxes under the complicated, burdensome, and outdated system of the past thanks to tax reform.

“Tax reform has already provided needed relief across Indiana and across the entire country. We have found scores of companies in my home state of Indiana who have invested in their employees, invested in capital improvements, or lowered energy rates for consumers,” said Senator Young. “When we were debating tax reform, I listened carefully to feedback from my constituents in Indiana. I’m glad to say that Hoosier voices were heard, and they are receiving the tax relief they asked for.”

Click here or the image below to view Senator Young’s speech.

Remarks as prepared for delivery:

I rise today, on Tax Day, to recognize this as the very last time Americans will have to file their taxes under the complicated, burdensome, outdated system of the past.

Today, we officially kick-off a new tax code that is simpler, fairer, and allows hardworking Americans to keep more of their hard-earned money.

Since we passed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act last December, success stories have poured into my office from Indiana businesses that are paying their workers more and from constituents who are earning more. 

Tax reform has provided needed relief across Indiana and across the entire country.

We have found scores of companies in my home state of Indiana who have invested in their employees, invested in capital improvements, or lowered energy rates for consumers.

They range in size from large companies like Wal-Mart and AT&T, to smaller Indiana businesses like Family Express, which has 70 convenience stores across the state and now is building 10 more and increasing its starting wage. 

“We feel obligated to pass on a significant portion of the tax savings to our staff,” said Family Express President and CEO Gus Olympidis.

My guest to this year’s State of the Union was another beneficiary of this historic tax overhaul.

Chelsee Hatfield is a young mother of three, and a teller at a rural branch of First Farmers Bank and Trust in Tipton, Indiana. She received a raise and a bonus as a result of tax reform.

This additional income will help Chelsee go back to school to earn her Associate’s degree, and it will enable her to put money away for her children’s future college education.

Chelsee represents so many Americans who work in small towns, who live in our rural communities, and who are going to get a fair shot because of the benefits from tax reform.

The tax reform success stories don’t stop there. 

The Northern Indiana Public Service Company, an electric utility company in Merrillville, Indiana, is passing on $26 million dollars in new savings to its customers.

Andy Mark, Inc., a mechanical and electrical parts supplier in Kokomo, Indiana is hiring more employees.

And Muncie Aviation Company in Muncie, Indiana is providing tax reform bonuses for all of its employees.

One Hoosier who lives in Cedar Lake, Indiana is growing his third-generation milk hauling business. And another who lives in Southern Indiana, and works for U-Haul in Louisville, used his $500 tax bonus to pay a bill.

These bonuses and raises are allowing more Hoosiers to save for a rainy day, put money toward their child’s education, make repairs to their home, and keep food on the table. 

When we were debating tax reform, I listened carefully to feedback from my constituents in Indiana. I’m glad to say that Hoosier voices were heard, and they are receiving the tax relief they asked for.

I look forward to continue hearing Hoosiers’ tax reform success stories. And, like the rest of America, I look forward to this being the last Tax Day of the old, outdated system.

Thank you – I yield the floor.