Category: US House

3,200 wealthy individuals wouldn’t pay estate tax next year under GOP plan

The following article by Heather Long was posted on the Washington Post website November 5, 2017:

House Republican leaders on Nov. 2 proposed legislation that would overhaul the U.S. tax code. Here’s what you need to know about it. (Monica Akhtar/The Washington Post)

More than 3,000 Americans would not have to pay the estate tax next year if the Republican tax bill is passed, a 64 percent reduction from the 5,000 people who would pay under current law, according to Congress’s Joint Committee on Taxation — one of the most glaring ways the proposed legislation benefits a small number of wealthy Americans.

Under current law, Americans can pass along homes, land, stocks or other assets worth up to $5.49 million without paying any estate or gift tax. Estates worth more than that are subject to a 40 percent tax. The House GOP bill would double the threshold to $11.2 million in 2018 and then do away with the tax entirely in 2024. For 2018, that means an estimated 3,200 people would not have to pay. Continue reading “3,200 wealthy individuals wouldn’t pay estate tax next year under GOP plan”

Tax bill raises red flags for Senate GOP

The following article by Alexander Bolton was posted on the Hill website November 5, 2017:

Credit: AP/Evan Vucci

The House GOP tax-reform package has put Senate Republicans in a tough spot, much like the House-passed ObamaCare repeal bill did earlier this year.

The legislation is expected to pass the House, starting a tougher battle in the Senate, where Republicans control 52 seats and can’t pass a bill if they suffer more than two defections and Democrats remain unified.

At least a half-dozen Senate Republicans have already raised concerns about various proposals in the tax measure, setting the stage for arduous negotiations in the upper chamber. Continue reading “Tax bill raises red flags for Senate GOP”

People Are Skeptical Of The GOP’s Tax Bill. Can Trump Change Their Minds?

The following article by Harry Enten was posted on the FiveThirtyEight.com website November 3, 2017:

Welcome to Pollapalooza, our weekly polling roundup. Today’s theme song: “Then Came You” from the television show “Webster.”

Poll of the week

An NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll released this week found that just 25 percent of Americans think President Trump’s tax plan is a good idea — before the legislation had even been presented to the public. More Americans, 35 percent, believe it’s a bad idea. Perhaps most worrying for Trump is that the bill’s level of popularity (again, before its actual unveiling, which happened Thursday) is more comparable to that of recent legislation that didn’t pass than that which did.

Take a look at arguably the two most important pieces of legislation that passed in the past decade: the Affordable Care Act and the 2009 economic stimulus package. With Obamacare, 33 percent of Americans thought it was a good idea in April 2009, when pollsters first asked the question, compared with 26 percent who thought it was a bad idea. The numbers were even better for the economic stimulus package: 43 percent believed it was a good idea in January 2009, when pollsters first asked about it, to just 27 percent who believed it was a bad idea. This initial popularity likely made it easier to move these bills forward. Continue reading “People Are Skeptical Of The GOP’s Tax Bill. Can Trump Change Their Minds?”

Paulsen, Lewis tout GOP tax plan as good deal for Minnesota

The following article by Maya Rao was posted on the Star Tribune website November 3, 2017:

Credit: Jacquelyn Martin, AP

WASHINGTON – Minnesota Republicans in Congress enthusiastically pitched their tax proposal to voters back home Thursday, vowing it would jump-start the economy while reducing the cost of living.

“It’s going to help small business, it’s going to increase paychecks, and it’s going to make sure we have a growing competitive economy so our American headquarters can also stay in Minnesota and hire more people,” Rep. Erik Paulsen said. A member of the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee, Paulsen went all in on what his office touted as a “once-in-a-generation tax reform bill.” Continue reading “Paulsen, Lewis tout GOP tax plan as good deal for Minnesota”

A Tax Cut That Lifts the Economy? Opinions Are Split

The following article by Patricia Cohen was posted on the New York Times website November 2, 2017:

Representative Paul D. Ryan, the House speaker, at the unveiling of the House Republican tax plan at the Capitol on Thursday. Credit Al Drago for The New York Times

With the release of an ambitious overhaul of the tax code, House Republicans are moving to fulfill a long-held desire of corporate America: a large and audacious tax cut.

Yet economists are divided over whether the plan is likely to revitalize the economy or merely bestow a windfall on the wealthiest investors.

Even before President Trump vowed as a candidate to sharpen America’s competitive edge, Republicans led by the House speaker, Representative Paul D. Ryan of Wisconsin, were arguing that large tax cuts would unleash a hurricane of economic activity. Continue reading “A Tax Cut That Lifts the Economy? Opinions Are Split”

Six Charts That Help Explain the Republican Tax Plan

The following article by Alicia Parlapiano was posted on the New York Times website November 2, 2017:

House Republicans released a bill on Thursday that would make major changes to the tax code. Some key elements of the proposal:

Lower Rates for Households

The bill would reduce the current marginal income tax brackets to four from seven — 12, 25, 35 and 39.6 percent — and lower taxes by increasing the income ranges affected by each rate.

Continue reading “Six Charts That Help Explain the Republican Tax Plan”

GOP tax bill ends electric vehicle tax credit, overhauls other energy taxes

The following article by Devin Henry was posted on the Hill website November 2, 2017:

© Getty Images

A massive GOP tax-reform bill would end a $7,500 credit for the purchase of electric vehicles and overhaul other energy-related provisions within the tax code.

The 429-page bill would repeal the electric vehicle tax credit, which supporters have credited with reducing the price of emission-free cars for consumers and helping the burgeoning American electric vehicle industry grow.

Advocates have ramped up lobbying efforts to save the credit, which has benefited electric vehicle manufactures like Tesla. The credit is limited at the first 200,000 electric vehicles sold by each manufacturer, but no one has yet hit that cap. Continue reading “GOP tax bill ends electric vehicle tax credit, overhauls other energy taxes”

Blue states will be hit hardest by GOP tax plan’s limits on deductions

NOTE:  Minnesota CD3 Rep. Erik Paulsen supports this legislation.

House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady (R-Tex.), joined by House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) on Thursday (J. Scott Applewhite/AP)

The following article by Carolyn Y. Johnson, Reuben Fischer-Baum and Aaron Williams was posted on the Washington Post website November 2, 2017:

The GOP tax plan’s changes to deductions would hit people in blue states hard, with limits on popular tax deductions that would have the biggest effects on people with high property taxes and expensive homes.

The tax plan doubles the standard deduction to $24,000 for a married couple, meaning most people wouldn’t itemize their mortgage interest or property taxes. But for those who do, the popular mortgage interest deduction would be capped at $500,000 of the loan amount for home purchases made after Nov. 2, 2017, instead of the current $1 million cap.

The deduction of state and local property taxes would be capped at $10,000, and state and local income and sales taxes could no longer be deducted. Continue reading “Blue states will be hit hardest by GOP tax plan’s limits on deductions”

Winners and losers in the GOP tax plan

The following article by Heather Long was posted on the Washington Post website November 2, 2017:

House Republican leaders on Thursday, Nov. 2 proposed legislation that would overhaul the U.S. tax code. Here’s what you need to know about it. (Monica Akhtar/The Washington Post)

Republicans unveiled their bill to overhaul the U.S. tax codeThursday morning, and there were some major winners and losers.

The top GOP tax writer, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady (R-Tex.), foreshadowed just how hard it would be to craft the biggest rewrite of the tax code since 1986 when he said in August: “Tax reform is hard. It’s the challenge of a generation.”

Here’s a rundown of who is happy and who isn’t as the details emerge regarding the “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act,” the centerpiece of President Trump’s “MAGAnomics” agenda. Continue reading “Winners and losers in the GOP tax plan”

The GOP tax bill would repeal an amendment that prohibits churches from taking political stances

The following article by Joe Perticone was posted on the Business Insider website November 2, 2017:

  • The new Republican tax plan repeals the Johnson Amendment, which prohibits religious groups and churches from making political statements and backing certain causes.
  • Democrats have already opposed any repeal of the Johnson Amendment.
Credit: REUTERS/Joshua Roberts

WASHINGTON — The Republican tax bill unveiled Thursday repeals a longstanding law that prohibits tax-exempt churches and religious groups from taking political stances.

Known as the Johnson Amendment, it stipulates that churches and religious groups are not permitted to endorse candidates and back political efforts while maintaining a tax-exempt status. Under the new billreleased Thursday morning, churches would not be penalized “solely because of the content of any homily, sermon, teaching, dialectic, or other presentation made during religious services or gatherings,” according to the text.

Rep. Kevin Brady of Texas, the top Republican tax writer in the House, told reporters, “I don’t want the IRS looming over our faith leaders in the community as they express their religious freedom.” Continue reading “The GOP tax bill would repeal an amendment that prohibits churches from taking political stances”