Tag: GOP tax scam

GOP in furious push for tax-reform votes

The following article by Naomi Jagoda was posted on the Hill website November 27, 2017:

© Greg Nash

The White House and GOP leaders are scrambling to win over Republican senators who are concerned that the tax legislation could blow up the deficit or would not provide enough help to small businesses.

Much of the focus on Monday was centered on Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.), who is pressing for changes to the bill that would help “pass-through” businesses.

A larger group of undecided Republicans appears to be seeking changes that would aim to limit the bill’s impact on the national debt.

Senate Republican leaders are planning to vote Wednesday on a motion to proceed to the tax bill, but a handful of Republicans have not taken a hard stance yet. Republican leadership can only afford to lose two votes, assuming all members of the Democratic caucus vote against it.

Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn (R-Texas) told reporters Monday that he expects leadership to offer a series of amendments to the bill on the floor.

“This is a dynamic process,” he said.

While Republicans across the board say they want to vote for the tax bill, some are pushing for changes before committing their support.

Daines on Monday became the second GOP senator to oppose the current version of the legislation, joining Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) in protesting that the bill treats corporations better than pass-through businesses.

Pass-throughs are companies such as sole proprietorships and partnerships that are taxed through the individual code. Most U.S. businesses, including many small businesses, are pass-through entities.

The Senate tax bill would create a 17.4 percent deduction for pass-through income, but pass-throughs would see less of a tax cut than corporations, which would get their rate slashed from 35 percent to 20 percent.

“I want to see changes to the tax cut bill that ensure main street businesses are not put at a competitive disadvantage against large corporations,” Daines said in a statement. “Two-thirds of our job creation comes from main street businesses and I’m doing what I can to make sure all of America is stronger and more competitive. Before I can support this bill, this improvement needs to be made.”

Johnson told Wisconsin reporters Monday that he would vote against the bill in the Senate Budget Committee on Tuesday afternoon if a change to the pass-through provision hasn’t been made by then.

“I’m not exactly sure what’s going to happen in committee; we’re working diligently to fix the problem,” he said. “If we develop a fix prior to committee, I’ll probably support it but if we don’t, I’ll vote against it.”

A no vote from Johnson could be a big setback for Republicans because they only have a one-seat majority on the Budget Committee.

Senate GOP leaders and administration officials have been trying to address the concerns of Daines and Johnson, possibly by increasing the pass-through deduction to 20 percent.

President Trump tweeted that with a few changes to the tax bill, “the pass through provision becomes simpler and really works well!”

A handful of other GOP senators have not taken a hard stance on the tax bill yet because they are worried about the measure’s impact on the debt.

“I would very much like to support it. We have got to get some things all worked out, and those are all in process,” Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) said during a news conference Monday.

The Joint Committee on Taxation estimated that the bill in its current form would add about $1.4 trillion to the deficit in its first 10 years. Republicans have said that they expect increased economic growth produced by the tax cuts to generate additional revenue that would offset some or all of the deficit increases.

But Lankford said he would like to see a “backstop” if the economic growth targets aren’t hit. He said he’s looking at a number of options for what such a provision would look like.

“I believe that we should not only take the best guesses that we can get out there from the best economists and be able to look at it, but we should build in the what if,” he said. “What if this doesn’t work? What changes might be needed in the tax code in the days ahead to be able to adjust in what scenario? So if the revenue is not coming in, should the rates change?”

Lankford said he’s had “good conversations” with other lawmakers about the tax bill.

“The conversations have all been extremely productive,” he said.

Besides Lankford, several other GOP lawmakers have raised concerns about the impact of the tax bill on the debt, including Sens. Jerry Moran(Kan.), Bob Corker (Tenn.) and Jeff Flake (Ariz.).

Corker and Flake both decided against seeking reelection in 2018 and have been outspoken critics of Trump. Still, they both backed the Senate’s efforts to repeal ObamaCare and maintained that their votes on tax legislation would be unrelated to any personal issues they have with the president.

Concerns about the deficit may have a bigger influence on the ultimate Senate bill than they did in the House, where only one GOP lawmaker, Rep. Walter Jones (N.C.), voted against legislation because of debt concerns.

On the other hand, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) on Monday came out in support of the Senate GOP tax bill, in part because the bill is not revenue neutral.

“I spoke out all year against the GOP leaders’ initial plan to make their tax reform ‘revenue neutral’ — meaning not really a cut,” he said in a Fox News op-ed. “I’m pleased to see my point of view has prevailed, and the current tax plan calls for a $1.5 trillion cut over the next ten years.”

In addition to the deficit hawks, Sens. Susan Collins (Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) have also not yet announced their positions on the bill.

Collins has expressed concerns about a provision that would repeal the individual insurance mandate in ObamaCare. Murkowski supports repealing the mandate but hasn’t yet endorsed the full bill.

The Senate Budget Committee is scheduled to meet Tuesday to consider the tax bill and legislation allowing oil and gas drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) and combine them into one bill. ANWR drilling is a top priority for Murkowski.

Trump is planning to rally GOP senators on taxes on Tuesday, when he attends the Senate Republicans’ lunch. He is also planning to sell the tax bill on Wednesday during a speech in Missouri.

Jordain Carney contributed to this article.

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Minnesotans raise alarms about tax bill

The following article was posted on the Workday Minnesota website November 26, 2017:

Recently, retired union members and friends brought their concerns about tax fairness and threats to Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security to Republican Congressman Erik Paulsen’s office. Photo courtesy of Minneapolis Regional Retiree Council

EDEN PRAIRIE — Union members in Minnesota are among those raising objections as the U.S. Senate prepares to vote on legislation to cut taxes, threatening important public services and providing handouts to the wealthy.

A vote could take place in the Senate as soon as Nov. 30, according to several media sources. The House has already passed its own bill.

Recently, retired union members and friends brought their concerns about tax fairness and threats to Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security to Republican Congressman Erik Paulsen’s office. In an action organized by the Minneapolis Regional Retiree Council, a small group of Paulsen’s constituents delivered a letter to his office in Eden Prairie, while over 60 other people bannered at the street corner outside. Continue reading “Minnesotans raise alarms about tax bill”

Ivanka Trump Should Stop Pretending the Tax Bill Will Help Women and Families

The following article by Shilpa Phadke was posted on the Center for American Progress website November 27, 2017:

Ivanka Trump walks across the stage during a town hall meeting on tax policy in Richboro, Pennsylvania, October 23, 2017. Credit: AP/Rich Schultz

U.S. House Republicans recently jammed through a tax bill, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, that gives massive tax cuts to millionaires and the ultrarich instead of those who need it the most: working families. Ivanka Trump, who has been traveling around the country advocating for the bill, claimed in Pennsylvania, “This tax plan couples two things that are really core values as a country, which is work and supporting the American family.” But, her tax pitch does not tell the full story of the bill, namely that nearly 87 million working- and middle-class households would see a tax hike in 2027. And the massive deficit increases from the bill will likely be used by conservatives to justify cutting government programs that support families. Far from supporting working families, these consequences would be devastating to millions and hurt the U.S. economy. Ivanka Trump should be straight about how much people such as her and her family stand to benefit from the tax bills and how those benefits are at the expense of the very women and families she claims to be fighting for.

Here are the top reasons that the tax bills are bad for women and families: Continue reading “Ivanka Trump Should Stop Pretending the Tax Bill Will Help Women and Families”

The Republican Tax Plan Is a Tax on Disability

The following article by Rebecca Vallas, Rebecca Cokley and Eliza Schultz was posted on the Center for American Progress website November 27, 2017:

President Donald Trump walks with House Speaker Paul Ryan, November 2017. Credit: AP/Jacquelyn Martin

Throughout 2017, President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans have continually taken aim at the health, well-being, and independence of Americans with disabilities. From repeated attempts to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and end Medicaid as we know it to budget proposals that slash Social Security disability benefits, disability employment services, Meals on Wheels, and more, the agenda Trump and his colleagues in Congress are pursuing would be nothing short of a disaster for people with disabilities. The latest attack comes in the form of their partisan tax plan, which passed the House on November 16 and is set to be voted on in the Senate as soon as this week.

Although they have sold the plan as a Christmas present for the middle class, under the Senate bill, a staggering 87 million* middle- and working-class families would see their taxes rise by 2027. Meanwhile, the top 0.1 percent would receive an average tax cut of $208,060. Furthermore, by repealing the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) individual mandate, the tax plan would also undermine the individual insurance market, driving up premiums and leaving 13 million more Americans without health insurance by 2025. Continue reading “The Republican Tax Plan Is a Tax on Disability”

Republicans’ latest plan to repeal Obamacare’s insurance requirement could wreak havoc in some very red states

The following article by Noam N. Levey was posted on the Los Angeles Times website November 27, 2017:

Serena Reeves, a health insurance counselor in Nebraska, helps Rifaah Hussein sign up for coverage through the Affordable Care Act. The latest GOP plan to repeal the law’s insurance mandate risks further inflating high premiums in some states. (Associated Press)

The Senate Republican plan to use tax legislation to repeal the federal requirement that Americans have health coverage threatens to derail insurance markets in conservative, rural swaths of the country, according to a Los Angeles Times data analysis.

That could leave consumers in these regions — including most or all of Alaska, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada and Wyoming, as well as parts of many other states — with either no options for coverage or health plans that are prohibitively expensive.

There are 454 counties nationwide with only one health insurer on the marketplace in 2018 and where the cheapest plan available to a 40-year-old consumer costs at least $500 a month. Markets in these places risk collapsing if Congress scraps the individual insurance mandate.

Continue reading “Republicans’ latest plan to repeal Obamacare’s insurance requirement could wreak havoc in some very red states”

GOP lawmaker uses fuzzy math to make case for small-business tax cuts

The following article by Nicole Lewis was posted on the Washington Post website November 27, 2017:

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) argues cutting taxes for small businesses would bolster the economy. But it’s not that simple. (Meg Kelly/The Washington Post)

“We are $20 trillion in debt. The projected deficit over the next 30 years is over $100 trillion. Maybe as much as $129 trillion. From my standpoint, it’s not time to cut individual tax rates. What it’s time to do is make American businesses competitive globally so our economy can grow. And again, the stat that I just told you about. . . . Revenues increased to the federal government by $1.2 trillion per year even with the meager economic growth we’ve had since 2009.”

— Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), remarks during an appearance on CNN’s “New Day,” Nov. 16, 2017

Johnson has expressed opposition to the GOP tax plan approved by the Senate Finance Committee by arguing that it does not provide enough of a tax reduction for small businesses compared with big corporations. Cutting the tax rate for these businesses, Johnson argues, would boost the economy, thus increasing the amount of revenue collected by the federal government. Continue reading “GOP lawmaker uses fuzzy math to make case for small-business tax cuts”

An Old Saw’s New Twist: Death (of the Deficit Hawks) and Taxes

The following article by David Hawkings was posted on the Roll Call website November 27, 2017:

A few Republicans clinging to old party orthodoxy could doom Trump’s big win

Office of Management and Budget director Mick Mulvaney has said “a lot of this is a gimmick,” referring to the tax bill’s expiration dates for some of the lower rates. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call file photo)

This apparent contradiction confronts Congress as it returns for a grueling month of legislating: The Republicans who run the Capitol, so many of whom came to Washington as avatars of fiscal responsibility, are going to spend the rest of the year working to make a worsening federal balance sheet look even worse.

December holds the potential for a productivity breakthrough, but it also threatens to end in embarrassing deadlock — which is why the clear consensus within the upper reaches of the congressional GOP is that it’s the right time to get comfortable with any feelings of hypocritical guilt.

The party’s acute political need to be seen as starting to make something with their unified government before the dawn of the midterm campaign season, the leadership and President Donald Trump have made plain, will need to take precedence over the demands of the relatively few remaining deficit hawks trying to push the party back toward its traditional core values of balancing budgets and holding the line on borrowing. Continue reading “An Old Saw’s New Twist: Death (of the Deficit Hawks) and Taxes”

For Trump, GOP tax bill could have big downside

The following article by Melanie Zanona was posted on the Hill website November 26, 2017:

© Getty Images

The GOP tax plan that is speeding through Congress could deliver a much-needed win for the White House, but it could also kill one of Trump’s other top priorities: legislation to rebuild U.S. infrastructure.

Not only would the tax overhaul use up one of the potential funding options for repairing infrastructure, it would also eliminate a financing tool that states have used to back a wide range of infrastructure projects.

That could spell doom for Trump’s infrastructure overhaul, which was always going to be a tough sell for fiscal conservatives on Capitol Hill. Continue reading “For Trump, GOP tax bill could have big downside”

Senate GOP tax bill hurts the poor more than originally thought, CBO finds

The following article by Heather Long was posted on the Washington Post website November 26, 2017:

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah) and Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) had a tense exchange during a markup of the GOP tax bill on Nov. 16. (Senate Finance Committee)

The Senate Republican tax plan gives substantial tax cuts and benefits to Americans earning more than $100,000 a year, while the nation’s poorest would be worse off, according to a reportreleased Sunday by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.

Republicans are aiming to have the full Senate vote on the tax plan as early as this week, but the new CBO analysis showing large, harmful effects on the poor may complicate those plans. The CBO also said the bill would add $1.4 trillion to the deficit over the next decade, a potential problem for Republican lawmakers worried about America’s growing debt. Continue reading “Senate GOP tax bill hurts the poor more than originally thought, CBO finds”

GOP leaders in advanced talks to change tax plan in bid to win over holdouts

The following article by Damian Paletta was posted on the Washington Post website November 26, 2017:

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) is surrounded by reporters as he goes to vote on Capitol Hill in Washington. (Susan Walsh/AP)

Senate Republicans are seriously considering several last-minute changes to their tax legislation in an effort to mollify wavering members, four people familiar with the discussions said, as GOP leaders seek to keep their members from defecting ahead of crucial votes this week.

The lawmakers attracting the most concern from leadership and the White House are Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) and Steve Daines (R-Mont.), who say the current version of the bill favors corporations over other businesses.

There are numerous members demanding changes, and their desires don’t all overlap. Together, the requests put Republican leaders in a difficult position, as they attempt to accommodate individual holdouts on a one-off basis without losing other members or creating a situation in which the bill collapses under the weight of disparate demands. Continue reading “GOP leaders in advanced talks to change tax plan in bid to win over holdouts”