Andy Puzder: New Tax Reform Law a 'Real Boon' for Economy

The recently passed tax reform law will be a "real boon" for the nation's economy and taxpayers, Andy Puzder, the former restaurant executive and Labor Secretary-nominee said Thursday.

"This tax bill is doing exactly what it should have done," Puzder told Fox News' "Fox & Friends" program. "It gave tax benefits to working and middle class Americans, because during the [Barack] Obama years they really didn't have the opportunity, the good job opportunities that a thriving economy would give them."

The law also will incentivize businesses to invest, said the former CKE Restaurants chief executive officer.

"That's what was missing during the Obama years," he said. "We didn't have business investment and GDP growth never got much above 2 percent. This bill comes on top of regulatory reform, which has already got us about 3 percent GDP growth, and the anticipation of the bill has really created a lot of enthusiasm in the business community. The New York Fed is now predicting that we'll have close to 4 percent GDP growth in the current quarter."

Moving forward, Puzder said, businesses will invest the money that they will get from these tax benefits, and "from being able to expense their investments in the year they make them, we will see a lot of growth, a lot of jobs created. It's going to put pressure on wages and all Americans will benefit from this."

Several companies, such as AT&T and Comcast already have given out bonuses in anticipation of the tax law, and Puzder, whose former company was the parent firm of Hardee's and Carl's Jr. restaurants, said he's hearing a great deal of talk from franchisees who want to grow their businesses, and they are asking a lot of questions.

"When the government relieves the pressure on growth, when it allows businesses to grow, by giving them tax breaks and regulatory relief as this president has done, you see even these small business franchisees talking about where can I grow?" he said. "How can I grow? There is a lot of excitement out there. I think you are going to see it in the numbers."

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