A recent survey of more than 500 CEOs ranked California dead last out of all fifty states for its taxation and regulation policies. This will probably come as no surprise to most Californians, who have watched a growing parade of frustrated businesses pack up their jobs and move elsewhere in recent years.
Sacramento needs to let people get back to work by passing drastic reforms that make it easier to start up, operate, and expand businesses. In Congress, I introduced a tax reform bill that would implement these sorts of reforms at the federal level. By lowering tax rates, simplifying the tax code, and eliminating loopholes and special deals, the ABC Act would allow start-ups and small businesses to compete with bigger companies on a level playing field. According to the Tax Foundation, it would also create more than a million jobs, kick-start economic growth, and raise wages. Finally, the reform would stop the flow of U.S. businesses moving overseas—not by forcing them to stay here, but by creating a fair, simple tax system that makes businesses want to stay and want to bring back the $2 trillion they are now holding overseas. Please take a look at the recent review of my plan by the Heritage Foundation, which called it "economically strong and an excellent place to start the process of reforming business taxes."
Separately, I'll be speaking about intelligence and national security issues at the API Liberty summit in Fresno on May 21. You can listen to a recent interview I did on these topics here (beginning at 16:20).
