Tax Plan Could Add 4 Million Jobs--Reagan

ATHENS, Tenn. —  President Reagan, in a bid to revive his faltering tax reform drive, said today that a new White House study shows his program could create almost 4 million new full-time jobs and add about $600 a year to the average American household.

Reagan, speaking on the steps of the McMinn County Courthouse in this east Tennessee town, noted that a just-completed study of his proposal by his own Council of Economic Advisers “said the economic growth it will inspire should create the equivalent of almost 4 million new full-time jobs.”

“They found that the personal economic gain for each household will be about $600 a year,” Reagan added.

Reagan is turning up the heat on lawmakers to complete work on his tax plan before Christmas. Congressional leaders are warning that there is not enough time to enact tax overhaul in this session and say the American people do not attach as much urgency to the issue as he does.

Counters Forecasts

Reagan said that, contrary to forecasts that his program would reduce government revenues, “our tax plan will ultimately bring a heck of a lot more money into the government. One reason is that every time we cut tax rates in one area--say on capital gains--we bring in more capital gains tax revenues because the cut in rates stimulates economic activity.”

He called the battle over tax reform “a drama with heroes and villains and a damsel in distress.

“The heroes are the citizens across this country who are asking for tax justice. The villains are the special interests--the ‘I Got Mine’ gang. And, the damsel in distress? A lass named Endless Economic Growth, who’s tied to the tracks and struggling to break free.”