The Trump tax law sent the deficit skyrocketing and gave a majority of the benefits to the richest Americans, while doing nothing for working families. Now, Republicans are doubling down on that unpopular law with more tax cuts for the wealthy.
The nonpartisan CBO says the deficit has skyrocketed by more than $200 billion over the last year, in large part because of Trump’s corporate tax cuts.
Axios: “The U.S. deficit grew by $222 billion from this time last year — reaching a total of $895 billion, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office… This increase was due mostly to the new Republican tax law and Congress’ routine decision to increase spending, which grew by 7% compared to revenue growth of only 1%. The CBO says the deficit will approach $1 trillion by the end of Fiscal Year 2019.”
Washington Post: “Corporate tax receipts fell 30 percent in the past 11 months, the CBO said, precipitated by the large reduction in rates from the massive tax overhaul passed by Congress last year.”
Now, Republicans want to double down with the Trump tax 2.0, which could add more than $2 trillion to the deficit over the next decade.
Washington Post: “House Republicans bracing for November’s midterm elections unveiled a second round of tax cuts on Monday that could add more than $2 trillion to the federal deficit over a decade, aiming to cement the steep cuts they passed last fall despite criticisms of fiscal profligacy and tailoring their policies to help the rich.”
The Trump tax law 2.0 would, again, mostly benefit the richest Americans.
Washington Post: “The richest 1 percent of Americans would see an average $24,130 cut from extending the individual tax cuts, compared to an average cut of $460 for those in the bottom 60 percent of the income distribution, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a left-leaning think tank.”
Vox: “According to the estimates from the CBPP, the proposal would cut taxes by about $32,000 for the richest 1 percent of households and reduce them by $340 for the bottom 60 percent.”
Remember: Republicans decided to prioritize corporations and make their tax cuts permanent, while allowing individual tax cuts to expire.
Washington Post: “The tax cuts for individuals under the original Republican tax law are mostly set to expire by 2025. Republican lawmakers decided only to make the law’s tax changes for corporations permanent — including lowering the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 21 percent — to prevent the law from costing more than $1.5 trillion in a 10-year window.”
NOTE: Rep. Erik Paulsen, the self-described “math guy” voted FOR this bill.