Imagine for a minute that in his recent SONA address, SA President Jacob Zuma said this: “My economic team is developing historic tax reform that will reduce the tax rate on our companies so they can compete and thrive anywhere and with anyone. It will be a big, big cut.”
The JSE would surge, business confidence rocket and foreign companies would be breaking down the doors of the Government’s much hyped but deathly quiet One Stop Investment Shop.
But this is precisely what much maligned US President Donald Trump told Congress on Tuesday night, among other confirmations of campaign promises. When the markets re-opened Wall Street celebrated by giving another 1.5% boost to US stocks. Because lower company taxes automatically means higher company profits.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average has just posted its fastest ever 2,000 point increase. And since Trump’s election, US shares have added a stunning $3 trillion in value. Whatever you think of the man or his politics, investors just love him. The US bull market is on the rampage. Stay aboard.
