CEOs of big companies see tax reform as the top agenda item in the beginning of the Trump administration, far eclipsing other priorities such as immigration and healthcare.
Executives are also optimistic that the political atmosphere in Republican-led Washington can be a “tailwind” for big legislation such as tax reform that has been slow to move, said Business Roundtable President Joshua Bolten, speaking with reporters Tuesday.
The business group surveyed its members, the CEOs of hundreds of large companies, for the first time since the election and found that their expectations for growth, hiring and investment jumped sharply.
“I think it’s fair to say that CEOs do sense that the business environment is improving with the president’s focus on jobs and growth,” Bolten said.
Just over half of the CEOs surveyed said that tax reform would be the best way to improve their growth. About one-third said regulatory reform was the most important item, and a sixth identified infrastructure investment as the top issue. While a few CEOs were concerned about healthcare reform and immigration, trade, previously a major focus for the group under former President Barack Obama, didn’t rate.
Bolten said the group is not yet concerned about the progress of tax reform. “While it’s never easy to do tax reform, we think that this is really the once-in-a-generation opportunity to put a very productive reform in place,” he said.
The group, which covers many industries, has not weighed in on the House Republican tax reform proposal, which is fiercely opposed by retailers.
Yet the CEOs are optimistic that unified Republican government will produce business-friendly results on taxes and other legislative issues.
Jamie Dimon, the head of JPMorgan Chase now serving as the chairman of the Roundtable, said Tuesday that he is optimistic about reforms. “We’re not believers that somehow we’re stuck in low growth,” he said on Tuesday’s call, explaining later that “we just need good policy.”
