I do want to drain the swamp and MAGA.
Better than nothing to start the fight on this.
There is not much greatness in this plan.
The corporate tax cuts and elimination of AMT seems to be the best things. Not much. Damn disappointing. We could easily do better than this and pass it. Why this is such a lame plan is hard to understand and I would love the actual drafters to for once explain ALL of their logic.
Some points:
The most IMPORTANT thing about Tax Cuts is that the Federal government should get less money.
That way the money stays with We the People and our sovereign states.
And it forces the Federal Government to stick more to the powers authorized by the Constitution.
This plan will not result in a permanent reduction in tax receipts by the feds.
We Want the Feds on a DIET !
If I going to have to pay more damn taxes, and I probably will with this NON tax cut plan, then I at least want the feds to be squeezed, but that will not happen and it feels like a betrayal.
Why on this plan can two gay guys live together (of a hetero couple shack up) and make $200k each ($400k total) and be in the 25% bracket, but a man and woman living together as husband and wife can only make $260k and then they are PENALIZED and must pay 35% on all the money over that, so they have to pay $14k more than the gay guys if they want to make the same $400k! And the couple probably have kids to care for also, deductions for kids are nothing compared to their expense!
My wife and I do not make $260k but if we do in the future we should not be penalized after making more when single couples can make up to $400k without the 35% penalty kicking in.
Then the dang 39.6% rate (how simple!) goes back to no marriage penalty again! WHAT?
So all of the Marriage Penalty comes out one bracket, that of people who make 130k to 200k each if they are married.
Two straight doctors married —> 35% bracket.
Two doctors shacking up —> 25% bracket, BINGO!
Any marriage penalty sucks and they did not fix it in the new plan, in fact it is WORSE I think since one bracket, the most realistic higher bracket that usual people can strive for, is singled out to penalize married people.
Gosh they could sell a fixed version of this as a tax friendly move for gay “marriages,” right? But it is really ONLY FAIR for most of married Americans, who are heterosexuals and married, who are in the 25% bracket benefit. FIX THIS !
(9) I could go on and on but taxes will still a swamp mess and not even permanent in many cases. This overfunds overreaching centralized power and is not simpler and does not promote longterm creativity, etc etc etc.
Easily pass? It’s the congress that’s screwing it up. They won’t easily pass anything worthwhile. Too may dems and establishment rinos.
Interesting, thanks for your comments. They definitely need to fix the Marriage Penalty—that’s really shameful.
My 2 cents,,,the GOP better figure out a way where NO ONE ends up paying more taxes. How crazy can they be to raise anyone’s taxes?? Come election time, the Democrats would have a field day with that!
The old definition of middle class was anyone well above starvation, but also also someone without inherited wealth, e.g. a lawyer or a doctor, mainly because we had no idea who made what. Today, we have stats courtesy of the income tax, exactly what middle class means. The broadest definition is probably the 50% of households on either side of the household median income. Upper middle class would be the top end of that 50%, and lower middle class would be the low end of that 50%. Based on census numbers, the following are the household incomes corresponding to various percentiles listed at 10% intervals:
| Household Income Percentile | Minimum Income to Reach, 2015 |
| 10% | $13,234.00 |
| 20% | $22,680.00 |
| 30% | $32,068.00 |
| 40% | $43,309.00 |
| 50% | $56,025.00 |
| 60% | $72,000.00 |
| 70% | $90,564.00 |
| 80% | $116,890.00 |
| 90% | $161,915.00 |
You made some good points and then messed it all up with your ending.