Sen. Rubio: Corporations Aren't Investing Tax Cuts in Jobs

Sen. Marco Rubio says big businesses aren't investing much of their windfall from President Donald Trump's tax cuts into their workers despite GOP promises during last year's debate.

"There is still a lot of thinking on the right that if big corporations are happy, they're going to take the money they're saving and reinvest it in American workers," Rubio, R-Fla., told The Economist in a story released Monday. "In fact they bought back shares, a few gave out bonuses; there's no evidence whatsoever that the money's been massively poured back into the American worker."

Rubio's comments run counter to the cheerleading seen from other Republicans — and Democrats quickly jumped on the remarks.

"We couldn't have said it any better ourselves," said Matt House, a spokesman for top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer of New York.

The GOP tax cut reduced the top corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 21 percent and also lower rates on individuals. Democrats say too much of the cuts went to the wealthy and businesses while hastening the arrival of $1 trillion-plus annual budget deficits.

GOP leaders are making the tax cuts the centerpiece of the fall midterm campaign and credit the tax cuts for boosting the economy. But the tax cuts have been underperforming in opinion polls, such as a Gallup survey earlier this month that found 39 percent of respondents approved of the GOP tax measure, with 52 percent disapproving.

Rubio, a rival contender to Trump for the GOP nomination in 2016, voted for the tax cuts in December after unsuccessfully pressing to make the $2,000 per-child tax credit fully refundable for lower-income workers.

"Sen. Rubio pushed for a better balance in the tax law between tax cuts for big businesses and families, as he's done for years," said Rubio spokeswoman Olivia Perez-Cubas, adding that Rubio still believes that "cutting the corporate tax rate will make America a more competitive place to do business."