The Great American Tax Cut Swindle

Stephen Lendman

House Republicans voted to continue transferring the nation’s wealth from ordinary people to corporate predators and the super-rich.

Every House undemocratic Dem voted against the bill along with 13 Republicans. Under the Senate version of the measure, households earning under $40,000 annually will face higher federal taxes in 2021.

Those earning $75,000 or less will pay higher taxes in 2027.  

Following Thursday’s House vote, executive director of Americans for Tax Fairness (ATF) issued the following statement, saying:

“227 House Republicans just voted to increase taxes on millions of working families and add trillions to the deficit, which will lead to deep cuts to Medicare, Medicaid, and education.”

“All to give massive tax cuts to corporations and millionaires. Unless you are wealthy, there is nothing in this bill to be thankful for as Thanksgiving approaches. Members of Congress will have a lot to answer for back home. This bill is an abomination.”

“With this bill, the House GOP is moving to rig the system further for the powerful and elite against everyday Americans. It’s immoral that many hardworking families will pay a higher tax bill or lose access to critical services like healthcare so that some CEO can get a bigger bonus and buy a bigger yacht.”

“Millions of Americans in the middle and at the bottom will be the losers from this tax plan, while the wealthiest will benefit.”

Here’s what ATF said earlier about the House GOP tax plan – the Senate version as bad or worse when finalized and voted on, expected after Thanksgiving:

“Showers most of the tax cuts on the richest 1% of taxpayers. They would get nearly half (47%) of the tax cuts after 10 years—a tax cut of nearly $53,000 on average. (Tax Policy Center)

Gives 75% of the tax cuts to wealthy corporations and businesses. (Joint Committee on Taxation)

Puts corporations over healthcare. Corporate tax rate is slashed from 35% to 20%, losing $1.5 trillion – equal to the cuts Republicans plan to make to Medicare and Medicaid.

Puts Wall Street over seniors. Wealthy business owners -including real estate investors like Donald Trump – get a $448 billion tax cut from the drop (from 39.6% to 25%) in the top tax rate for ‘pass-through’ businesses. Republican budget cuts Medicare by $473 billion.

A real jobs killer. By eliminating taxes on some foreign profits and slashing the tax rate on others far below the US rate, the plan encourages multinational corporations to outsource more jobs and shift more profits offshore.

Hands a $500 billion tax cut to offshore tax dodgers. American corporations have $2.6 trillion in profits stashed offshore on which they owe $750 billion in US taxes (Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy).

Rather than make them pay what they owe, like all the rest of us do, the tax plan will charge them only $220 billion – over a half-trillion-dollar discount.

Makes the middle class pay more. One-quarter of middle-income Americans would pay more in taxes by the tenth year because the tax plan repeals or limits deductions that these families rely on.

Three in 10 families earning between $55,000 and $93,000 will see a $1,150 tax increase of $1,150 on average. (Tax Policy Center)

Makes it harder for states to provide essential services. The plan repeals the deduction for state and local income and sales taxes (SALT).

One-third of taxpayers making $50-75,000 use this deduction, as do half of those making $75-100,000.

While the plan will still allow taxpayers to deduct up to $10,000 in property taxes, it will cut SALT deductions by 88%, leading to tax increases for many in the middle class.

Eliminating SALT will put pressure on state/local budgets, likely forcing cuts to education, health care, and infrastructure.

Helps Donald Trump pay less. The plan repeals the alternative minimum tax (AMT), losing almost $700 billion.

Without the AMT, Trump would have paid just a 4% tax rate on $153 million in income one year. But thanks to the AMT, he paid $38 million for a tax rate of 25%. Lets Ivanka and her siblings save billions.

The estate tax is repealed after six years, losing $170 billion. The Republican budget cuts education, job training and social services by $200 billion.

Under the tax bill, only estates worth at least $11 million would pay the estate tax. If Trump is worth the $10 billion as he claims, his heirs could inherit billions tax free.

Harms families with large medical bills. The plan repeals the deduction families can take for out-of-pocket medical expenses, which mostly benefits the middle class.

For families with very high medical costs, the plan’s higher standard deduction will not compensate for the loss of the medical expense deduction, which is claimed by nearly 9 million families.

Breaks Trump’s promise to close the ‘carried interest’ loophole. Remember when candidate Trump promised to get rid of this loophole that primarily benefits private equity fund managers?

The House plan keeps it in place. Adds $1.5 trillion to the national debt. The plan includes $1.5 trillion in tax cuts that are not paid for by closing loopholes used by the wealthy and corporations.

This will balloon the deficit and further endanger funding for Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, public education and more.”

Some “middle class miracle,” one of many Trump Big Lies – more proof that virtually all politicians lie. Nothing they say should be believed, especially on issues mattering most.

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My newest book as editor and contributor is titled “Flashpoint in Ukraine: How the US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III.”

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Stephen Lendman