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Builders Receive Tax Policy Briefing From Secretary Evans

Commerce Secretary Don Evans on May 10 briefed members of NAHB’s Executive Board and Capital Club on tax policy and ongoing efforts within the Bush Administration to stimulate the nation’s sputtering economy.

In his remarks at the Old Executive Office Building, which is adjacent to the White House, Evans said that NAHB was one of only a few organizations that the Administration had turned to in its discussions of new tax policies, and he thanked the nation’s home builders for supporting the President’s economic package.

With the Bush plan coming closer to a final resolution in the Congress, Evans reiterated that the Administration believes tax cuts for business and families are vitally important for re-igniting growth in domestic investment and consumption. That view was expressed in an open letter from the Secretary of Commerce to the NAHB membership that appeared in the March 24 issue of this publication.

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The President’s Council of Economic Advisers had estimated that the White House’s original plan to boost employment and economic growth would have resulted in some 1.4 million new jobs by the end of next year, Evans said in his letter. And a proposal to eliminate double taxation of corporate income would have returned about $20 billion to the economy this year alone.

While the provisions and amounts contained in the original tax package remain in flux in the legislative process now underway, the Administration remains confident that its plan will unleash economic prosperity in America in the years ahead.

Evans has noted that the Administration is keenly aware of the housing sector’s central role in leading economic growth during the recovery period.

Housing activity accounted for about one-third of growth in the Gross Domestic Product during this year’s first quarter, NAHB President Kent Conine said.

Photo by Herman Farrer
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