In recent comments marking the first 100 days of his second term, President Donald Trump stated that his attention will next focus on efforts to reach a “big, beautiful new deal” in Congress to enact significant reductions in federal taxes and regulations.

The president’s commitment is good news for all of us. Federal taxes impose a significant economic burden. The average middle-income American family pays more than $10,000 in federal taxes each year. And, on top of taxes, the federal government imposes an enormous additional economic burden on American households through massive regulations that direct and restrict virtually every aspect of our daily existence.

Unlike taxes, the cost of federal regulations is largely hidden. There is no agreed upon procedure to capture and make public the costs that businesses and individuals must incur to comply with the regulations that govern their operations and activities.

Some analysts estimate that the total cost to comply with federal regulations now exceeds $2 trillion per year. To cover their compliance costs, American businesses are forced to raise the prices they charge for the goods and services they sell. Businesses are also forced to cut their other costs, reducing what they can spend on wages, employee benefits, research and development, and production facility upgrades.

Regulatory compliance costs impose a........

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