Subject: Daily Message Points -- May 6, 2016
From: "Lillard, Brooke M. EOP/WHO" <[email-masked]>
To: "Lillard, Brooke M. EOP/WHO" <[email-masked]>
Cc: "O'Donnell, Robert F. EOP/WHO" <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 6 May 2016 17:48:50 +0000

Hi everyone,

Below are some relevant talking points that may be of use.

Thank you,

Brooke Lillard

Deputy Assistant Director of Broadcast Media

**

Daily Message Points

May 6, 2016

Continued Economic Progress - And Combatting Money Laundering, Corruption and Tax Evasion

*         Today, the President highlighted that our economy continues to grow: April marked the 74th consecutive month of private sector job growth in America.  Over that record streak of job growth, our businesses have created 14.6 million new jobs in all.  Unemployment is falling and wages are rising.

*         That's real progress, but the President made clear that there's more work to do - and too many Americans are still hurting. That's why he called on Republicans in Congress to do their part and take common-sense steps to help working Americans.

o   To create new jobs, they should invest in our infrastructure - our roads, bridges, and schools.

o   To reward some of the hardest-working people in America, they should raise the minimum wage.

o   To level the playing field for American workers and crack down on unfair foreign competition, they should pass smart new trade agreements.

o   And they should reform our tax code to promote growth and job creation, close wasteful loopholes, and simplify the tax code for everybody.

*         Only Congress can fully close the loopholes that wealthy individuals and powerful corporations can take advantage of, often at the expense of middle-class families. The President has put forward plans to do just that, but because Congress likely won't act on those plans, the Administration will continue to do what it can on its own to make the tax system fairer.

*         Today, the President built on those efforts by:

o   Requiring banks and other financial institutions to know, verify, and report who the real people are behind shell corporations that set up accounts at those institutions.

o   Second, we're plugging a gap in our tax rules that foreigners can exploit to hide their assets to evade taxes.  The Treasury Department and the IRS are issuing a proposed rule to make sure foreigners can't hide behind anonymous shell companies formed inside the U.S.

*         Taken together, these steps go a long way in helping to combat money laundering and tax evasion, but additional tools are needed to promote transparency and strengthen law enforcement. And only Congress can help on that front, so the President will continue to push Congress to do their part and:

o   Pass legislation to require "beneficial ownership" transparency.

o   Pass legislation to give law enforcement additional anti-corruption tools.

o   Approve eight tax treaties that have been pending for years to give U.S. officials a complete set of tools to fully investigate and crack down on tax evasion by Americans with offshore accounts.

o   Strengthen existing law to improve reciprocal transparency.
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