Tag: GOP tax cuts for the rich

Republicans Search for Proof Their Tax Plans Will Pay for Themselves

The following article by Jim Tankersley was posted on the New York Times website November 12, 2017:

Mitch McConnell, the Senate majority leader, delivering remarks on Capitol Hill last week before a meeting on the Senate tax plan. Credit Tom Brenner/The New York Times

WASHINGTON — Republican leaders keep insisting that their plans to cut taxes by $1.5 trillion over the next decade will not add to the national debt — yet economic analyses of the Senate and House proposals keep predicting that the plans will do just that.

The disconnect is prompting House and Senate Republican leaders and the Trump administration to hunt down — and promote — more optimistic forecasts, even if they exclude large parts of the tax bills from their analyses or assume growth-boosting features that are not, in fact, in the bills. Continue reading “Republicans Search for Proof Their Tax Plans Will Pay for Themselves”

The Cost of Lower Taxes

The following article by Andrew Soergel was posted on the U.S. News and World Report website November 10, 2017:

Lawmakers are in the midst of a battle to keep constituents and interest groups happy without exploding the deficit.

The Capitol dome in Washington. (Brendan Smialowski/Agence France-Presse via Getty Images)

President Donald Trump rode into town on the backs of several ambitious campaign promises.

But after one year in office, his border wall along America’s southern border remains unbuilt. The Obamacare legislation he vowed to gut while on the campaign trail remains in effect.

And although he’s had more success on deregulation through executive orders and memoranda, the ongoing tax reform battle on Capitol Hill represents the president’s last, best chance for a big-ticket legislative victory this year – and arguably before the 2018 mid-term elections. Continue reading “The Cost of Lower Taxes”

‘I don’t feel wealthy’: The upper middle class is worried about paying for the tax overhaul

The following article by Todd C. Frankel was posted on the Washington Post website November 9, 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)

ALPHARETTA, Ga. — On the income distribution charts at the center of tax overhaul plans, Courtney Mishoe knows she’s doing well. She works as a tax manager at a firm in the Atlanta suburbs. Her husband is a police officer. Together, they make more than $180,000 a year. They are solidly in the upper middle class. But they have a mortgage and three kids, including one in day care and another in high school with plans to go to college. It all adds up. They depend on tax deductions to make their budget work. Continue reading “‘I don’t feel wealthy’: The upper middle class is worried about paying for the tax overhaul”

Top economic adviser: Tax plan that mostly benefits millionaires is about ‘wage growth’

The following article by Philip Bump was posted on the Washington Post website November 9, 2017:

White House chief economic adviser Gary Cohn speaks during the daily news briefing at the White House on Sept 28. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)

Gary Cohn left his position as president of Goldman Sachs shortly after President Trump’s inauguration to take a job with the White House. He now serves as director of the National Economic Council, meaning that he’s Trump’s top adviser on economic issues. As part of that job, he sat down with CNBC’s John Harwood to explain the administration’s goals for overhauling the country’s tax system.

It was an interesting explanation.

Cohn is well aware by now (after some initial confusion) that the anticipated benefits of the proposal are heavily stacked toward the richest Americans. The Tax Policy Center estimates that about a quarter of the benefits of the tax cuts would be seen by the bottom 80 percent of the American economy — and another quarter of the benefits would be seen by the top 0.1 percent. When Harwood noted this discrepancy, Cohn blithely replied, “I don’t believe that we’ve set out to create a tax cut for the wealthy. If someone’s getting a tax cut, I’m not upset that they’re getting a tax cut. I’m really not upset.” Continue reading “Top economic adviser: Tax plan that mostly benefits millionaires is about ‘wage growth’”

Two words in the GOP tax bill mean tens of billions for the superwealthy

The following article by Glenn Kessler was posted on the Washington Post website November 7, 2017:

It’s a common GOP talking point that the estate-tax hurts farmers and small businesses. The Fact Checker’s Glenn Kessler explains why this is exaggerated, at best. (Meg Kelly/The Washington Post)

“We just think it’s unfair. Death should be not a taxable event, and we should not be stopping people from being able to pass their life’s work on to their kids.”
— House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.), interview on “Fox News Sunday,” Nov. 5, 2017

We’re featuring this Ryan quote because it illustrates a bit of a mystery about the House GOP plan: Why does it allow the superwealthy to escape taxation on a huge hunk of capital gains seemingly forever? Continue reading “Two words in the GOP tax bill mean tens of billions for the superwealthy”

Delays, Caps and Chains, Tax Bill Gimmicks Explained

The following article by Lindsey McPherson was posted on the Roll Call website November 7, 2017:

The House Ways and Means Committee began consideration of the tax package on Monday. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)

Tax cuts are not cheap, so when closing so-called loopholes left House Republican tax writers short of their budget target, they dipped into their grab bag of budget and timing tricks.

“Once you set that cap in reconciliation instructions, it has to fit,” Ways and Means member Carlos Curbelo of Florida said. “So the entire bill is designed to meet the instructions that both chambers passed.”

Republican congressional leaders are using the budget reconciliation process to consider the tax package, which allows them to bypass Senate procedural roadblocks. The catch is the legislation must adhere to parliamentary budget rules.  Continue reading “Delays, Caps and Chains, Tax Bill Gimmicks Explained”

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”

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”