Posted on 12/19/2017 10:45:01 PM PST by Kaslin
It's (nearly) over. By a 51-48, strictly along party lines, the US Senate has passed a GOP-backed tax reform package that will cut taxes for more than 80 percent of all Americans (raising taxes on a tiny, disproportionately wealthy fraction), benefit small businesses, and make America's extraordinarily high corporate tax rate -- both statutory and effective -- far more internationally competitive. All Democrats, including every alleged "moderate." voted 'no,' while every Republican voted 'yes.' The only Senator not voting was John McCain, who is fighting cancer at home in Arizona. This is a very significant victory for the White House and Congressional Republicans, as it also achieves long-sought conservative policy goals such as repealing Obamacare's coercive individual mandate tax, and opening up oil drilling in parts of Alaska's ANWR region. At last, a signature legislative achievement from the unified GOP government:
BREAKING: The Senate has passed the GOP tax reform bill, 51-48.
Nonpartisan analysts have determined that the proposal will cut taxes for 80+% of Americans, drastically improve our globally-uncompetitive corporate tax rate, grow GDP & create jobs. Every Democrat voted no.— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) December 20, 2017
The Wall Street Journal's editorial board calls the tax reform package a "trifecta" of policy wins. In light of the left-wing misinformation machine's nonstop efforts to frighten and mislead Americans about the bill, read this excerpt carefully:
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which the House passed Tuesday, represents the biggest advancement for growth and opportunity in recent memory. It provides real relief to middle-income families and realizes policy goals conservatives have sought for decades. Taxpayers will get significant relief soon. A family of four earning the median income of $73,000 can expect a $2,059 tax cut. The Internal Revenue Service has announced that it will adjust its withholding tables as soon as February. With less money withheld, paychecks will be bigger in a matter of weeks. The bill significantly increases the standard deduction, nearly doubling the amount you can earn completely tax-free. It also makes taxes simpler, so that nearly 9 in 10 Americans will be able to file their taxes on a form the size of a postcard.
...Middle-income families will benefit from the doubling of the child tax credit to $2,000 a child. The expansion of 529 college-savings plans to elementary and secondary education means more Americans will be able to invest in their children’s futures. The bottom line is that this bill will help you earn more and keep more of what you earn. But that is not all. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act achieves a historic trifecta of conservative policy goals. In addition to tax reform, the bill eliminates the ObamaCare individual mandate penalty, the linchpin of the health-care law, which forces people either to buy insurance or pay a tax. And for the first time, we will open up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for energy exploration and development, so we can harness these natural resources. After years of stagnation and division, we are firmly and finally choosing the path of growth.
As we wrote earlier, a liberal organization that is often hostile to GOP policy goals had no choice but to confirm that the bill will slash taxes for the lopsided, overwhelming majority of all Americans, starting immediately, and running at least into 2026 (after which the middle class tax cuts will very likely be renewed). The upper chamber vote comes on the heels of the House of Representatives' approval of an identical measure earlier this afternoon. Well, almost identical: Because of a technical procedural snag, House Republicans will have to vote again Wednesday morning, after which the bill will be signed into law by President Trump:
Republican lawmakers had been barreling toward their goal of passing the first major tax overhaul in decades before the end of the year. But in their haste, they appeared to have violated a Senate procedural measure known as the Byrd rule. A Senate aide confirmed to CNBC that three provisions in the bill adopted by the House on Tuesday do not comply with Byrd rule requirements. The rule governs what types of provisions the Senate may consider under the procedural budget window known as reconciliation...the final legislation [will bounce] back to the House for a procedural vote Wednesday morning.
Conservatives from across the spectrum should celebrate this accomplishment. The bill is not perfect, and there are some fair criticisms of it, but the Left's truly insane rhetorical overreach has descended to the point of parody. They refuse to grapple with the bona fide facts. I'll leave you with my deservedly uncharitable description of the anti-tax reform brigade's deceitful and obtuse demagoguery:
The Dem/media case against the tax reform bill: An orgy of baseless fear-mongering, flagrant dishonesty, cherry-picking, feigned ignorance, lies of omission, and risible hypocrisy. Astounding dishonesty and disingenuousness.— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) December 19, 2017
For a much more balanced and accurate assessment, read these three factual and data-driven posts.
I agree with you. JMHO, he went from a life of undeserved favors (Annapolis) to being a very sick man filled with hatred and lacking loyalty to anyone or anything, maybe due to his actions as POW. His near-death timing is consistently when it will do the most to destroy anyone who succeeds where he has failed. There's no logic to this last stint home. If he's in a near-death hospice experience, he should resign. If not, he should've been in DC, voting with his party.
Thank God. The maniacs would've had their storm troopers out full time changing Collins and Flake votes if it did.
It could be that McCain has come to the end of his days.
Soon judgment.
In trying to pay taxes forward, my New Hampshire town stated, "We are not set up to do that."
Tell your CPA nice try, but the GOPe made pre-paying your taxes illegal in the Tax Increase and Deduction Elimination Act.
https://www.cnbc.com/2017/12/18/prepaying-2018-state-income-taxes-is-blocked-in-gop-bill.html
"Thinking about prepaying some of your 2018 taxes in advance of limitations imposed by the Republican tax plan? Well, forget about it. The final version of the tax legislation includes a provision that would disallow a deduction in 2017 for any prepayment of 2018 state and local income taxes (otherwise known as SALT)."
Yeah, they are raising my taxes.
Yippee!
If you live in CA, expect great changes in your upcoming SAL elections in the next several years. GREAT CHANGES!
We live in NYS. Our local taxes are going up double digits. SALT deductions still needed to go
If you go over to CTH and have been following "the big ugly" and all the unmasking and FISA stuff, it makes ya wonder what they did to Justice Roberts.
This bill is a drop the mic moment to his twisted thesis, that has now gone from being a document to now being relegated to the ash-bin of history.
And all the Prog shows yesterday were on a screed we will revolt, bla, bla, bla, if you fire Lurch the 2nd, seriously your followers are so stoooopid to realize that the crown jewel of Obama's legacy has just been beeotch slapped and you are trying to rallye your minions over Lerch being fired? Omg, they are so stooopid...
Charles Payne on Fox agrees with me. Next year will be even better. IMHO we haven't seen nothing yet in terms of growth and GDP, With this bill the train has left the station and Smuckey and SanFranNan aren't on it nor are their followers and it will suck to be them in 18' as voters go into the booth with a GDP IMHO banging off the left field wall in the area of 6 to 8% and they did ugats to help.
Thanks President Trump and GOP. Just what us small guys that struggle everyday to keep our beef going to market want. Now you got your big imports you want and all of us little ranches will be folding.
Thanks again
If your state and local pols are bleeding you dry, that’s not the other 49’s problem.
TRUE THAT!!!!! Now hopefully we will not have to hear his name except when he is dead and buried. Communist turned traitor.
So sorry....about living in CA. It’s a beautiful state but unfortunately has been made unlivable by Libs. It would take more than a miracle to fix it now I’m afraid. I think we’ll be seeing more ‘Conservative flight’ from states like CA and that will make a bad problem worse but until it is completely bankrupt I don’t see it getting better unless they split the state into smaller states.
Here in E. TN, I live in a beautiful state, in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains and Cherokee National Forest, own a 50-acre farm with a four bedroom older farmhouse, and my property taxes are only $600 a year. We have our problems for sure but we are still a working person friendly state and we still have our gun rights and our religious freedoms.
I truly feel sorry for conservatives trying to live in states like CA and others that tax and “law” their residents to death.
And I’ll bet that $10,000 cap doesn’t last long...
I am not so sure this is true. If this was happening there would be MORE attention by the MSM and Obama himself.
They would be bellowing like a calf with its head stuck under a gate.
We went down to TN for the eclipse. TN is now on our short list after we escape from NY. :-)
???
I don't think you understand. It is not the local tax that I was worried about it is my federal deductions. Like for equipment, fuel, seed, feed, etc. BYE BYE
Actually, the corporate rate was raised to 21% from the originally proposed 20%.
Perhaps the most galling aspect of the Republican tax bill is its incongruous and completely unnecessary repeal of the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate.
www.latimes.com/.../la-fi-lazarus-republican-tax-bill-individual-mandate-20171219-st...
Oh they are bellowing...
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