Ever since that ruling, still making mincemeat
out of the Public
Congress has tons of support for “their survival-in-office”
Top 1-2 percent vs. the rest of us
(Boy, do they enjoy their game: Damnatio Ad
Bestias)
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act:
Introduction and Bill
Details: More than 3/4
of respondents to a CBS
News survey in early December said the bill “would benefit
corporations,” with less than a ¼ saying it would help their own family (and
full 69% saying it would help the wealthy.)
And a USA
Today-Suffolk University poll released Sunday found 64 percent said
the wealthy will get the most benefits, while just 17 percent said the middle
class will.
My emphasis added.
1. Lowers individual tax rates for low-
and middle-income Americans by effectively expanding the zero tax bracket and
maintaining a 10 percent bracket, allowing hardworking taxpayers to keep more
of their hard-earned money, make ends meet, and save for retirement. Lowers to 37 percent a bracket for high-income earners
which is now 39.6 (a very big win for them).
2. Increases standard deduction from
$6,350 to $12,000 for individuals and from $12,700 to $24,000 for married
couples. For single parents, the standard deduction will increase from $9,300
to $18,000.
3. Expands the child tax credit from
$1,000 to $1,650 and allowing many more parents to claim the credit by
substantially lifting existing caps; preserves the child and dependent care tax
credit to help working parents care for their children and older dependents –
such as an aging grandparent – who need support;
4. Preserves the adoption tax credit to
help families with the high costs of adopting children; and allows parents to more effectively save for the education
costs of unborn children (Note:
I think this provision was voted down).
5. Preserves the deduction for
charitable contributions, continuing a long recognition of the importance of
private philanthropy for the churches and community organizations that daily
provide aid and assistance to those in need.
6. Protects the home mortgage interest
deduction for existing mortgages and maintains the deduction for newly
purchased homes up to $1 million. This incentive for homeownership provides tax
relief to current and aspiring homeowners.
7. Continues popular retirement savings
programs such as 401(k) and Individual Retirement Accounts (IRA), to help
Americans build their retirement nest eggs and prepare for the future.
8. Preserves the earned income tax
credit (EITC) to provide tax relief to low-income Americans working to build
better lives for themselves.
9. Expands deduction for medical
expenses; enhanced standard deduction for the blind and elderly; and education
relief for graduate students.
10. Repeals the alternative minimum tax (AMT) to
simplify the tax code and eliminate uncertainty for millions of Americans who
are required to calculate their taxes twice each year.
11. Provides relief from
the death tax (Estate Tax) by doubling the current exemption. (Another big bennie for the top crust).
12. This will reduce uncertainty and costs for
family-owned farms and businesses by making it less likely that Washington will
impose an unnecessary layer of taxation on Americans who want to pass on their
life’s work to the next generation.
13. “Permanently lowers the
corporate tax rate to 21 percent” so American companies no longer have to face the highest tax rate in the
industrialized world, which will allow them to better compete in the global
marketplace, create more jobs and increase wages. (Note: Most avg citizen breaks have expiration dates).
14. A simple and easy-to-administer deduction for
pass-through businesses of all sizes, allowing more small businesses to grow,
invest, hire new workers and increase wages while also preventing abuse of the
reformed system;
15. Enhanced Section 179 expensing to promote
business investment and growth; and
16. Enhanced cash accounting, allowing more
businesses to use the simple cash-basis accounting method.
17. Full and immediate expensing of new equipment,
which encourages growth and increases investment, productivity and wages.
18. Protects the ability of small businesses to
deduct interest on loans that allows Main Street employers to expand, invest,
and hire new workers.
19. Preserves important elements of the existing
business tax system.
20. Keeps low-income housing credit to continue
encouraging businesses to invest in affordable housing and provide individuals
and families with expanded opportunities.
21. Keeps R&D tax credit, which enhances
investments in American products, technology and innovations.
22. Permanently modernizes our outdated
international tax system by eliminating the antiquated “worldwide” system, in
order to eliminate double taxation, enhance the competitiveness of American
companies, and bring business and investment back to the United States.
23. Eliminates the “lock-out effect” by making it
simpler and less onerous for American multinationals to bring foreign earnings
back to America for investment and growth here at home.
24. Eliminates incentives for companies to shift
jobs, profits and intellectual property overseas, and by creating incentives for companies to both
locate in America and bring economic activity back to America.
Now the raw ugly nasty GOP politics
of the deal-making:
Sen. Marco
Rubio’s opposition to the GOP’s tax “reform” package sinks the bill, and if he
remains opposed he would be joined by Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN) and then only one
more Republican defection would mean failure. But, more likely, GOP leaders will
reach an accommodation with Rubio and the others for the deals they want – call
it raw politics – but more like blatant bribery.
Factor in Rubio’s
gripe about not expanding the child tax credit then it shows as a vast majority
of the public agrees shows the GOP’s stinginess toward the working class as it
strains at the seams with goodies for corporations and the wealthy, which is
painfully obvious.
Indeed,
other last-minute changes Republicans have been considering appeared primed to
tilt the package further in that direction. At one point they had to scramble to
make the bill’s budget math work. e.g., Sen. Finance Committee Chairman Orrin
Hatch (R-UT) said they were looking at moving up the expiration date for
individual tax cuts — a change that would siphon more from lower-income
workers as noted in this extract from the Washington Post article seen here in
a latest report on the state of that
play:
“The additional revenue is needed because
Republicans are seeking to lower the top tax rate paid by the wealthiest
Americans, ratchet back proposed curbs on the deductions of state and local
taxes, and scale back proposed tax rules for investment income. All of these changes
are expected to add more than $200 billion to the cost of the bill, which is
one reason GOP leaders have said they don’t have much flexibility to address
Rubio’s demands.”
My view for a very long time. This a very bad bill and
raw deal for most Americans – minus the top 1-2 percent that is.
This GOP along
with Trump thinks otherwise. Time will tell.
Stay tuned and hopefully it will not pass.
Thanks for stopping by.
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