Tax Reform Will Be Boon for U.S. Economy, Says Merrill Lynch Strategist

Passing tax reform has made Donald Trump “the most important president of the last 30 years,” said David Woo, a New York-based currency strategist for Bank of America Merrill Lynch, at a conference held by Calcalist in Tel Aviv on Monday.

For daily updates, subscribe to our newsletter by clicking here.

The U.S. president signed into law an overhaul of the country’s tax code on Friday capping what Mr. Woo considers a successful first year in office for Mr. Trump.

“The American press does not want to give any credit for what Trump has done over the past year,” Mr. Woo said. “I’m an economist, I believe in numbers, and in the last three quarters the U.S. economy has gone up 3%, something economist say we will not see again in our lifetime.”

Mr. Woo so that U.S. code was so outdated, it was “literally a dinosaur.” He added that tax policy is to blame for the fact that the U.S. has been “one of the biggest losers of globalization.”

He said the U.S.’s corporate tax rate was especially detrimental to economic growth.

“The U.S. is very backward when it comes to taxes and especially corporate taxes, and that is why in the past 20 years, U.S. companies preferred to invest outside the U.S.,” he said. “This is what Trump is trying to change.”

As part of his tax reform, Mr. Trump lowered corporate tax from 35% to 21%, placing the U.S. in the middle of international average, according to Mr. Woo.

“In my view, there is no question this tax reform is going to boost growth,” Mr. Woo said.