For Immediate Release

January 6, 2006

 

Contact:

 

 

Travis Larson

(202) 216-2057

tlarson@sia.com

 

 

 

 

 

US Economy Strong and Growing, With Help Of Tax Cuts

 

 

 

WASHINGTON, D.C., January 6, 2006 – Marc Lackritz, the president of the Securities Industry Association (SIA), today made the following statement, as the Bush administration’s economic team held a number of public events across the nation:

 

"In 2003, the President and Congress temporarily lowered tax rates on dividends and long-term capital gains helping to spur higher growth and the creation of more than four million new jobs, driving the unemployment rate down sharply. The law has already lowered taxes for millions of savers and investors; extending it will provide certainty and stability to the 76 million Baby Boomers who are preparing for retirement.”

 

"Extending these tax reforms will help ensure the economy remains on track, making this provision one of the most important economic votes the Congress will take this year."

 

 

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The Securities Industry Association brings together the shared interests of approximately 600 securities firms to accomplish common goals.  SIA’s primary mission is to build and maintain public trust and confidence in the securities markets.  SIA members (including investment banks, broker-dealers, and mutual fund companies) are active in all U.S. and foreign markets and in all phases of corporate and public finance.  According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the U.S. securities industry employs nearly 800,000 individuals, and its personnel manage the accounts of nearly 93-million investors directly and indirectly through corporate, thrift, and pension plans.  In 2004, the industry generated $236.7 billion in domestic revenue and an estimated $340 billion in global revenues.  (More information about SIA is available at: www.sia.com.)