Tag: Reaganomics

What Trump Doesn’t Say About His Own Tax Plan

The following article by David Kay Johnson was posted on the dcreports.org website in April, 2018:

The Republicans Didn’t Reform the Tax System, They Blew It Up

In a Tax Day essay under the byline of Donald Trump, the USA Today newspaper has allowed the 45th president to tell an utterly misleading story about the tax “reform” law he signed into law in December. The calculated deceptions in this piece matter a lot because the front page of that same newspaper declares “Exclusive: GOP banks on tax cuts to keep  majority in Congress.”

So, let’s examine what someone wrote for Trump as he campaigns for a second term and a Congress controlled by Republicans who will not hold him accountable for anything.

Keep in mind that Donald Trump claims to be the greatest world expert of all-time on taxes, but under oath has testified that he knows nothing about accounting. Accounting is central to taxes. Indeed, it is so critical that his claim of expertise is the same as if I declared myself the world’s greatest airplane designer, but then asked, “What is a wing?” Continue reading “What Trump Doesn’t Say About His Own Tax Plan”

GOP tax message hits a snag

The following article by Naomi Jagoda and Niv Elis was posted on the Hill website March 30, 2018:

Credit: Alex Edelman/picture-alliance/dpa/AP

More than three months after the passage of the GOP’s tax-cut law, new surveys suggest that many people don’t think they are getting bigger paychecks, which could cut into support for Republicans in this fall’s midterm elections.

A CNBC poll this week stated that just 32 percent of working adults reported having more take-home pay due to the new law, a problem for Republicans hoping to run on the measure and the health of the economy in November.

The GOP has made the tax-cut law the centerpiece of its campaign message, arguing that Republican control of Congress and the White House led to legislation that is putting more money in people’s pockets and stimulating an economy with low unemployment. Continue reading “GOP tax message hits a snag”

The Tax Cut Effect

The following article by Andrew Soergel was posted on the U.S. News and World Report website March 30, 2018:

The benefits of the nation’s new tax code haven’t cropped up in much economic data so far this year.

GOP LAWMAKERS BROUGHT in 2018 with a $1.5 trillion tax overhaul that upended the burdens individuals and corporations owe to the Internal Revenue Service each year.

The legislation heaped new debt onto a country already saddled with more than $20 trillion in outstanding obligations. But the overhaul was touted as an economic growth engine likely to drive investment and wage growth in America, eventually allowing the cuts to pay for themselves by virtue of a stronger economy. Continue reading “The Tax Cut Effect”

Republicans consider ‘balanced-budget amendment’ after adding more than $1 trillion to the deficit

The following article by Jeff Stein was posted on the Washington Post website March 28, 2018:

House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.). Credit: Melina Mara/The Washington Post

House Republicans are considering a vote on a “balanced-budget amendment,” a move that would proclaim their desire to eliminate the federal deficit even as they control a Congress that has added more than $1 trillion to it.

The plan is expected to have virtually no chance of passing, as it would require votes from Democrats in the Senate and ratification by three-fourths of the states. Republican lawmakers have pushed for the vote as a way to signal to constituents ahead of the midterm elections that they have tried to reduce the nation’s deficit. Continue reading “Republicans consider ‘balanced-budget amendment’ after adding more than $1 trillion to the deficit”

Income Taxes Aren’t Going to Go Down

Rep. Erik Paulsen sure is busy telling everyone how great he thinks the tax reform act is.  Erik, if the plans is so fantastic why don’t you plan an in-person town hall and have a conversation with your constituents so you can hear what we think?

We all understand that the tax reform act will reduce taxes overall, but it appears to be a gift to the wealthiest individuals and corporations, not working families.  Home-owning Minnesotans, especially in cities like Eden Prairie, will see limited benefit or even tax increases while narrow interests, like real estate businesses will have windfall.  Republicans used to abhor government picking winners and losers.  No more. Continue reading “Income Taxes Aren’t Going to Go Down”

Don’t be fooled by short-term gains

Erik Paulsen paints a very rosy picture for “American families and hard working taxpayers across the nation” in his commentary on tax reform, in the March 15 edition of the Eden Prairie News. This is the rest of the story.

It is important to keep in mind that the tax-reform provisions related to corporations are permanent, while those affecting individual taxpayers expire in 2025. As a result many individuals will have higher paychecks in the near term, thanks to the new tax bracket levels and several increased tax credits. However, the tax bracket levels will return to their previous rates after 2025, while many tax credits will expire. Therefore, depending on one’s personal situation, taxes may increase substantially in 2026. Continue reading “Don’t be fooled by short-term gains”

Broken Promises: More Special Interest Breaks and Loopholes Under the New Tax Law

The following article by Alexandra Thornton was posted on the Center for American Progress website March 1, 2018:

Credit: Getty Images

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) was introduced on November 2, 2017, rushed through Congress on a partisan basis, and signed by President Donald Trump just seven weeks later. No hearings were held on the actual bill and experts who could have helped ensure that provisions were properly drafted had barely any opportunity to digest legislative language or analysis from the Congressional Joint Committee on Taxation, much less to provide comments. Additionally, Democratic legislators were not permitted in the drafting room. The result is a bill riddled with drafting errors, special tax breaks that were not vetted, and new loopholes.1 While some are mere glitches, others appear to be purposeful giveaways that will create complexity and confusion for taxpayers and will have a significant impact on federal revenues.2

Most tax policy experts understand tax reform to involve making the tax system fairer, as well as simpler and more efficient where possible.3 This is achieved in part by eliminating special interest tax breaks and loopholes that allow savvy taxpayers to legally escape tax.4 This approach contributed to the success of the Tax Reform Act of 1986.5 While it will take time before the full ramifications of the TCJA are fully revealed, it is clear at this point that the effort did not result in true tax reform. Rather, while some special interest tax breaks and tax loopholes were eliminated or reduced, a host of others were left in place. And new breaks and loopholes were added that individuals and businesses, with the help of their sophisticated tax advisers, can use to avoid paying taxes in the years ahead.6 This issue brief provides a sample of the many special tax breaks that remain or were added to the tax code, along with some new loopholes that have been identified in the two short months since the bill was passed. Continue reading “Broken Promises: More Special Interest Breaks and Loopholes Under the New Tax Law”

Nearly half of Americans agree with Nancy Pelosi’s ‘crumbs’ comment, according to a poll by a pro-Trump group

The following article by Ed O’Keefe was posted on the Washington Post website March 1, 2018:

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has earned the ire of Republicans for suggesting that major corporations are giving workers “crumbs” while top executives reap bonuses after passage of the GOP’s tax revision plan.

But a new poll from a group supportive of President Trump finds nearly half of Americans agree with Pelosi’s comments despite weeks of relentless criticism from GOP leaders.

The poll was conducted by America First Policies, a pro-Trump nonprofit group established shortly after the president’s inauguration last year. A report published Thursday by CNBC details how the group, officially classified as a “social welfare organization,” is conducting extensive polling that is usually conducted by major party committees on behalf of an incumbent president. Continue reading “Nearly half of Americans agree with Nancy Pelosi’s ‘crumbs’ comment, according to a poll by a pro-Trump group”