Tag: GOP supply side economics

Larry Kudlow’s claim that ‘we have virtually paid for’ Trump’s tax cut

Judy Woodruff, PBS: “You are hanging a lot of this on these tax cuts, but we now have a number of experts who are watching those tax receipt numbers that come in regularly, and they are saying that they do not add up to what is anything like the kind of growth that the administration had projected off these tax cuts.”

National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow: “Well, actually, overall revenues are up about 10 percent. So that’s a pretty good number. And let me say, one of the people that are skeptical of us, the Congressional Budget Office, nonetheless, their estimates before taxes and most recently after the taxes, they have argued, they have said, there’s roughly $7 trillion of higher nominal GDP, and from that comes about 1.2 trillion in extra revenues, so that the tax cuts are about 80 percent paid for overall.”

— Exchange on PBS’s “NewsHour,” March 11, 2019

“Even the CBO, with which we generally disagree — I’m not breaking news here on my part — but they just published their new numbers. You know, from the point of pre-tax-cut to now, we have had about $7 trillion unexpected increase, $7 trillion over 10 years in terms of GDP. And that kind of calculates to roughly 1.2, 1.3 trillion in additional revenue. That’s the CBO numbers. These are all 10-year estimates. I apologize for that, but that’s the convention. So, what am I saying here? The tax cut was about 1.5 trillion scored. We have virtually paid for it — I guess 80 percent paid for it — and that’s by the CBO’s own numbers.”

— Kudlow, in an interview on CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street,” March 8, 2019

President Trump’s chief economic adviser says new numbers from the Congressional Budget Office show that 80 percent of the administration’s tax cuts will be paid for in a decade. Even when accounting for lost revenue, the tax cuts will “virtually” pay for themselves because of increased economic activity, Kudlow suggests.

He’s not the first Republican to claim tax cuts pay for themselves. But he is the first to twist what the CBO’s nonpartisan number-crunchers said in a Feb. 28 analysis.

CBO Director Keith Hall factored in several big developments in this analysis. One was the estimated effect of the tax cuts Trump signed in December 2017. Another was “changes to federal spending resulting from legislation enacted early in 2018.” The biggest change came from “revised historical data and changes in the economic outlook … before accounting for the effects of the tax act.”

The Pinocchio Test

View the complete March 14 article by Salvador Rizzo on The Washington Post website here.

Dems seek relief for worried taxpayers in tough filing season

Democratic lawmakers and taxpayer rights advocates are stepping up their calls for the IRS and Congress to provide more help for taxpayers during a filing season challenged by President Trump‘s tax law and the recent government shutdown.

Some want Congress and the IRS to extend the filing deadline. And lawmakers and advocates are pushing for additional penalty relief for people who did not pay enough in taxes during the year because of withholding changes.

“Filing season is now in full swing, and I urge the House to act as soon as possible to ensure that these complying taxpayers are not penalized any further,” Rep. Judy Chu (D-Calif.) said at a hearing Thursday.

View the complete March 9 article by Naomi Jagoda on The Hill website here.

The federal deficit ballooned at start of new fiscal year, up 77 percent from a year before

The Capitol dome in Washington. Credit: Brendan Smialowski, Agence France-Presse via Getty Images

The federal budget deficit ballooned rapidly in the first four months of the fiscal year amid falling tax revenue and higher spending, the Treasury Department said Tuesday, posing a new challenge for the White House and Congress as they prepare for a number of budget battles.

The deficit grew 77 percent in the first four months of fiscal 2019 compared with the same period one year before, Treasury said.

The total deficit for the four-month period was $310 billion, Treasury said, up from $176 billion for the same period one year earlier.

View the complete March 5 article by Damian Paletta on The Washington Post website here.

Thanks To GOP Tax Cut, Bank Profits Rose $28.8 Billion In 2018

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. Credit: Andrew Harrer, Bloomberg

Colorado resident Isadora Bielsky was recently brought to tears when she learned that, rather than getting a refund, she owed $8,000 in taxes this year, thanks to the GOP tax scam.

But while Republicans punish folks like Bielsky, federal data shows U.S. banks ended 2018 with $28.8 billion in extra profit because of the same Republican tax bill.

Banks saw their profits soar by more than $70 billion over 2017 levels, but the $28.8 billion was solely because of goodies and kickbacks Republicans inserted into the tax bill, which passed Congress in late 2017 without a single vote from a Democrat.

View the complete February 23 article by Dan Desai Martin on the National Memo website here.

The Americans paying more taxes

The IRS currently faces the tough task of implementing the most sweeping tax overhaul in decades. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call file photo)
Tax season has begun, and upper-middle-income taxpayers earning between $120,000 and $200,000 in states with high local taxes are the most likely to be among the 5 percent who paid more last year because of the 2017 law, says Kyle Pomerleau, director of the Center for Quantitative Analysis at the Tax Foundation, a nonpartisan think tank. Doug Sword, CQ’s tax reporter, explains how congressional Democrats, and those running for president, are attacking the law.

View the February 15 post on The Roll Call website here.

Fox News tells Americans to stop complaining about their shrunken tax refunds

Fox & Friends defending the Trump tax cuts. Credit: Fox News screenshot

Many Americans are actually paying more in federal taxes thanks to the Trump tax “cuts.”

As Americans begin to prepare their 2018 federal tax returns, many are facing the unpleasant surprise that their tax refunds will be smaller this year or that they may even owe money to the government. This comes despite — or perhaps because of — the tax bill passed by the Republican Congress in late 2017 and signed by President Donald Trump, which Trump falsely promised would give everyone a tax cut, but actually raised taxes on many middle class Americans.

On Wednesday, Fox & Friends attempted to spin the situation, blaming taxpayers who should have somehow known to have adjust their withholding a year ago and should have saved more.

Noting that the average tax refund has dropped 8.4 percent since last year, guest and Fox Business Network host Charles Payne claimed Americans should have used their “fatter paychecks” more wisely.

REAL STORIES: Taxpayers Hurt By Trump’s Broken Promise That They’d Take Home More Money

Trump promised taxpayers they would take home more money because of his tax law. Now, millions of Americans across the country are receiving refunds that are less than they expected, and many are even having to pay more.

Here are real stories of American taxpayers who have been hurt by Trump’s broken promise:

“Refunds are less than what they expected, and in some cases, they’ll end up paying more taxes than they did last year.” – North Carolina accountant

“The standard deduction that was implemented to replace that hasn’t offset the loss in those other deductions…I really don’t think people are getting more money. Especially if you’re earning less than let’s say a quarter of a million dollars.” – Pennsylvania accountant Continue reading “REAL STORIES: Taxpayers Hurt By Trump’s Broken Promise That They’d Take Home More Money”

Treasury calls reports on dip in tax refunds ‘misleading’

The Treasury Department on Monday said reports of a reduction in average tax refunds in 2019 are “misleading.”

In a tweet, the department said refund amounts have been consistent with 2017 levels and “down slightly” from last year, something it blamed on a small sample size. Continue reading “Treasury calls reports on dip in tax refunds ‘misleading’”

Millions of Americans could be stunned as their tax refunds shrink

Most received a tax cut in 2018, but their refunds won’t necessarily stay the same

Millions of Americans filling out their 2018 taxes will probably be surprised to learn that their refunds will be less than expected or that they owe money to the Internal Revenue Service after years of receiving refunds.

People have already taken to social media, using the hashtag #GOPTaxScam, to vent their anger. Many blame President Trump and the Republicans for shrinking refunds. Some on Twitter even said they wouldn’t vote for Trump again after seeing their refunds slashed.

The uproar follows the passage of a major overhaul to the tax code in December 2017, which was enacted with only Republican votes and is considered the biggest legislative achievement of Trump’s first year. While the vast majority of Americans received a tax cut in 2018, refunds are a different matter. Some refunds have decreased because of changes in the law, such as a new limit on property and local income tax deductions, and some have decreased because of how the IRS has altered withholding in paychecks.

View the complete February 10 article by Heather Long on The Washington Post website here.

Americans Outraged Over GOP Tax Scam: ‘I Got Screwed’

Trump promised taxpayers they would take home more money because of his tax law. Now, millions of Americans who have filed their taxes are receiving refunds that are less than they expected.

Millions of Americans who have filed their 2018 taxes are learning their refunds are less than expected—or that they actually owe the IRS money.

Washington Post: “Millions of Americans filling out their 2018 taxes will probably be surprised to learn that their refunds will be less than expected or that they owe money to the Internal Revenue Service after years of receiving refunds.”

Americans’ tax refunds are hundreds of dollars less than last year, and millions fewer taxpayers are getting refunds at all.

USA Today: “The average tax refund issued so far fell to $1,865, down 8.4 percent from $2,035 at the same time last year, according to IRS statistics. The number of refunds issued also dropped by 24.3 percent.” Continue reading “Americans Outraged Over GOP Tax Scam: ‘I Got Screwed’”