Two years in, Trump tax cuts face big test with reelection bid

The Hill logoTwo years after President Trump signed his tax cut legislation into law, the measure has not become a runaway hit with the public, posing a potential challenge for his reelection bid as workers say they haven’t seen much of a benefit. 

Democrats believe that their calls to roll back the 2017 law and raise taxes on the wealthy will resonate with voters and help them win back the White House next year.

“We have to eliminate [a] significant number of these god-awful tax cuts that were given to the very wealthy,” former Vice President Joe Biden said during Thursday’s Democratic presidential debate.

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President Trump’s claims that tax cuts sparked major U.S. investments

The following article by Salvador Rizzo was posted on the Washington Post website February 15, 2018:

The president has a tendency to claim credit where credit is not due — particularly when it comes to business deals. (Meg Kelly/The Washington Post)

“GM Korea company announced today that it will cease production and close its Gunsan plant in May of 2018, and they’re going to move back to Detroit. You don’t hear these things, except for the fact that Trump became president. … Also, you saw Chrysler moving from Mexico to Michigan.”
—President Trump, in remarks at the White House, Feb. 13, 2018

“Because of our tax cuts, Apple is investing $350 billion in the United States. … And two days ago, ExxonMobil, in addition to many others, just announced that they are investing $50 billion in the United States. So the good news just keeps on rolling in.”
—Trump, in remarks to congressional Republicans, White Sulphur Springs, W.Va., Feb. 1, 2018

Trump has been on a good-news kick lately, claiming that several multinational corporations are bringing jobs, factories or profits back to the United States because of the tax overhaul he signed in December. Continue reading “President Trump’s claims that tax cuts sparked major U.S. investments”

Trump touts benefits of tax cuts for ‘the people that like me best’

The following article by John Wagner was posted on the Washington Post website November 29, 2017:

During a speech touting the GOP tax plan in St. Charles, Mo., on Nov. 29, President Trump said his “focus” is to help “the people that like me best.” (The Washington Post)

ST. CHARLES, Mo. — With a critical Senate vote looming, President Trump on Wednesday pitched the Republican tax plan as a boon to his working-class supporters, even as independent analyses have indicated that the wealthy and corporations would be the biggest beneficiaries.

“Our focus is on helping the folks who work in the mail rooms and the machine shops of America, the plumbers, the carpenters, the cops, the teachers, the truck drivers …. the people that like me best,” Trump said in remarks to an enthusiastic, invitation-only crowd of about 1,000 at a convention center in a state that he carried comfortably in last year’s election.

“Really, the people that like me best are those people, the workers,” Trump said. “They’re the people I understand the best. … They came out to vote for me. They came out to vote for us.”

A report released Sunday by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office found that the GOP Senate plan would give substantial tax cuts and benefits to Americans earning more than $100,000 a year while the nation’s poorest could be worse off.

By 2027, most people earning less than $75,000 a year would be net losers under the plan, the CBO found. Meanwhile, millionaires and those earning between $100,000 and $500,000 would be big beneficiaries, according to the CBO’s calculations.

Senate Republican leaders have questioned the analysis, which takes into account the projected effects of a provision in the bill that eliminates the requirement that almost all Americans buy health insurance or else pay a penalty. The CBO has calculated that health insurance premiums would rise as a result, leading 13 million to lose insurance by 2027.

Trump appeared upbeat as he addressed the crowd from a stage lined with Christmas trees, urging the Senate to pass the bill in coming days.

“The big day will be either tomorrow or the next day,” Trump said. “I would say, ‘Do it now.’ ”

If the bill passes, the Senate will have to work out differences with the House, which has passed its own version of a tax-cut bill. Trump referred to the process as “a mixer” and said he hopes to have compromise legislation on his desk by Christmas.

“Together we will give the American people a big, beautiful Christmas present,” Trump told the crowd. “You’re going to have something I predict is going to be really, really special.”

Republicans are forging ahead with their promise to overhaul the tax code, even with very little public support for their proposal. (Video: Jenny Starrs/Photo: Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)

Several recent polls show that more Americans oppose than support the Trump and GOP tax plans. A Quinnipiac poll this month found about twice as many disapproving as approving (52 percent vs. 25 percent), with nearly a quarter offering no opinion.

Polls have also found a widespread perception that the Trump tax plan is geared toward the wealthy. In a Washington Post-ABC News poll this month, 60 percent said his tax proposal favors the rich, while 13 percent thought it favors the middle class, 2 percent said it favors the poor, and 17 percent said it treats all equally. Continue reading “Trump touts benefits of tax cuts for ‘the people that like me best’”

Major, Major’ Tax Cut May Not Be in Store for Middle Class

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

The Republican tax plan would make it difficult for middle class people looking to buy starter houses in high-priced, economically vibrant areas such as Silicon Valley and New York. Credit Jim Wilson/The New York Times

WASHINGTON — The House Republican tax bill is a clear windfall for corporate America and a roll of the dice for the middle-class families that President Trump promised would be the centerpiece of his economic agenda.

Early projections suggest the bill would cut taxes for an average middle-class family. But the typical cut could be relatively modest, compared with the benefits for businesses and high earners. More important, the myriad changes in the code would actually raise taxes on nearly 13 million tax filers who earn $100,000 a year or less, according to preliminary calculations using the open-source economic modeling software TaxBrain.

Those changes also include limits on, or the elimination of, what might be called tax breaks for middle-class aspirers. The bill would no longer allow Americans to deduct interest on student loans they took out to attend college. It would limit mortgage interest deductions to $500,000 on newly purchased homes, a provision that would hit middle-class teachers or office workers looking to buy starter houses in high-priced, economically vibrant areas such as New York City and Silicon Valley.

One of the bill’s biggest lifts to working families would vanish after five years — though Republicans would certainly push to extend it — and another would be diluted by the bill’s changes to how the tax code calculates inflation. Continue reading “Major, Major’ Tax Cut May Not Be in Store for Middle Class”

President Trump’s tax cut: Not ‘the biggest’ in U.S. history

The following article by Glenn Kessler was posted on the Washington Post website November 1, 2017:

The president has a habit of exaggerating; this time his exaggeration is the size of his proposed tax cut. (Meg Kelly/The Washington Post)

“This now allows for the passage of large scale Tax Cuts (and Reform), which will be the biggest in the history of our country!”
— President Trump, in a tweet, Oct. 20, 2017

More than 20 times since he became president, President Trump has claimed that the tax plan under consideration in Congress was the largest tax cut in the history of the United States. He made this claim even before many details were set, but from the beginning it was nonsense. It was so easily debunked that we just tossed it in our ongoing database of false and misleading Trump claims, rather than do a full-fledged fact check. Continue reading “President Trump’s tax cut: Not ‘the biggest’ in U.S. history”

Home builders group raises hammer, tries to smash GOP tax bill

The following article by Damian Paletta was posted on the Washington Post website October 29, 2017:

Credit: Matthew Hull via morguefile.com

The National Association of Home Builders knows how to demolish things, and on Saturday it decided to take on a new project — the House Republican tax bill.

That’s because one day before, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady (R-Tex.) informed NAHB that he would not be including a homeownership tax credit as part of the new tax legislation, which will be released on Wednesday.

NAHB’s chief executive, Jerry Howard, had spent months working on this new tax provision with Brady’s aides, but House leaders wouldn’t allow its inclusion, Howard was told. The next day, Howard and other NAHB officials gathered on a conference call and debated what to do. They agreed unanimously — kill the bill. Continue reading “Home builders group raises hammer, tries to smash GOP tax bill”

3 Things You Need to Know About Trump’s Tax Plan

The following was posted on the TrumpAccountable.org website October 5, 2017:

The Trump Tax Plan is gaining steam and momentum even as natural disasters and the horrific events of this weekend in Las Vegas have changed the national dialogue. Here are three things you need to be watching on taxes:

Growth Projections and Deficit – In addition to the disastrous outcome of the Kansas/Brownback tax cut disaster, the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget argues that there is no way that tax cuts will pay for themselves and that lowering taxes will lead to more deficit spending. “Past tax cuts in 1981 and the early 2000s have led to widening budget deficits and lower revenue, not the reverse as some claim.” Increased deficits represent a significant challenge to the U.S. economy and any tax plans advanced by the Republicans need to help reduce the deficit. Continue reading “3 Things You Need to Know About Trump’s Tax Plan”