Posted on 12/19/2017 10:26:03 AM PST by Tolerance Sucks Rocks
This week, the House and Senate will vote on comprehensive, pro-growth, pro-family tax reform. The legislation, known as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, will give families and individuals across the country tax reduction and simplification starting in 2018.
The legislation includes rate reduction and a doubling of the standard deduction. Under this change, the first $12,000 for an individual and $24,000 for a family will be tax-free. The standard deduction is already used by 105 million taxpayers across the country, who will see a significant tax reduction.
In addition, the plan doubles the child tax credit to $2,000, helping millions of American families across the country. According to the most recent IRS data, more than 22 million people used the child tax credit in 2015.
The bill also offers relief from the alternative minimum tax and the death tax by increasing the exemption amounts for both taxes. The AMT was initially passed to make sure 155 high-income Americans paid federal income tax. Today, it hits almost 4.5 million Americans, with millions more forced to calculate their taxes twice to comply with the tax.
Similarly, the death tax imposes unnecessary tax burdens on family-owned businesses across the country at a time when they are most vulnerable. Even those that do not pay the death tax must organize around it.
While simplification of the code is a key feature of the legislation, the bill also retains key tax preferences such as many retirement and education provisions.
The Left’s criticism of the GOP tax plan does not hold up to scrutiny
Despite the clear benefits of the plan, the Left continues to mislead the public by claiming that this legislation benefits “the rich” and large corporations over the middle class.
For instance, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., literally called the bill “the end of the world,” while Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., called the bill a “betrayal of the middle class.” Unfortunately, this apocalyptic rhetoric has scared many Americans, with some polls showing more than half of Americans believe they will not see a tax reduction.
When reality replaces rhetoric, it is clear that the Democrat arguments have no basis in reality. Case in point — Senate Democrats claimed a family earning $86,000 per year would face a $794 tax increase, a charge that was swiftly debunked by the Washington Post’s Fact Checker, which gave it four Pinocchios (the worst rating possible). In reality, a family of four earning $86,000 a year would see a tax cut of almost $2,500, according to one estimate, tax reduction totaling nearly 50 percent.
Critics of the plan also say that limiting the state and local tax deduction and mortgage interest deduction will result in a tax hike for Americans. However, this is more than offset by the many other changes in the plan. Even so, these deductions are used by just 22 percent of taxpayers and are still partially retained in law. In contrast, 70 percent take the standard deduction, and it is estimated that 95 percent of taxpayers would choose not to itemize.
While the bill is not perfect, it is indisputable that the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act reduces taxes at every income level with the biggest benefits being borne by the middle class.
The Republican tax reform bill begins to undo Obama’s legacy of higher taxes
Under Democrat control, Americans were hit with tax increases on the ability of families to deduct medical expenses, tax increases on medical devices and prescription medicines, and tax increases on health savings accounts. The Left even imposed taxes on employer-provided and individual health insurance, while imposing a tax for not purchasing health insurance.
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act begins to reverse this by repealing this tax penalty, known as the individual mandate, granting additional tax relief to low- and middle-income families by eliminating one of the most regressive taxes in the code. In tax year 2015, 6,665,480 households paid this tax. About 79 percent of these households had annual incomes below $50,000, and 37 percent of households that paid this tax had annual incomes below $25,000.
Republicans promised to unrig the complex code and reduce taxes for the middle class. Through the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, they are delivering. Under this legislation, families across the country will see strong tax relief and simplification just as President Trump and congressional leaders have promised.
Alexander Hendrie is a contributor to the Washington Examiner's Beltway Confidential blog. He is tax policy director at Americans for Tax Reform.
What is the effective start date of the legislation?
To be fair, not everybody’s deduction eliminations will be “more than offset” by other provisions, especially in high-tax states like New York and California. I heard some 10% will actually see a tax increase, hopefully a modest one.
According to sources on FOX News, most of us will start seeing more take-home pay in February.
Actual start date will be Jan. 1, 2018, but apparently it takes some time after that to adjust all the numbers.
The truth is, millions of people will have to pay much more than they are now paying. Naturally, if you tax bill goes up by thousands of dollars, you’re not very happy.
Sure they’re wrong. They’re wrong by choice.
The thing they are right about, is that a charge like this will be be divisive.
That’s all they care to be right about.
Sure they’re wrong. They’re wrong by choice.
The thing they are right about, is that a charge like this will be be divisive.
That’s all they care to be right about.
“The end justifies the means.”
If you have to lie to be destructive of wholesome values and gain support for evil policies, so be it.
The principal benefit will be accelerated growth and jobs, not the pittance of a cut in personal taxes.
A cut that does not reach every American in the middle class.
The number one way it will benefit the so-called middle class will be by expanding membership through availability of employment. The left wants you to look at the pie as if it were always the same size and the division of said pie should be fair and managed by them. Actually fair means managed by them. Entry into the middle class should be through government employment funded by taxation. Any reduction in taxation will allow the market to manage entry into the middle class and they cannot stand for that.
Millions of people? How many? Millions is so hyperbolic. And much more? How much is much more? Such statements don’t advance an argument other than to scare people. If by millions you mean 20 million of people on food stamps who are making nothing and paying nothing will now be able to find jobs, yes they will be paying much more.
Dumbass Democrats never look at the results, like an expanded economy, more people employed and a housing boom. All they know how to do is bitch, moan and complain...........
Approximately 16% of taxpayers. Since there are about 139 million returns filed, that means about 22 million returns will owe more under the new system.
Most of these people fall into the $75K-300K range.
So, according to my math, a filer who earns 10 million dollars will get a 260 thousand dollar tax reduction. (Top bracket goes from 39.5% to 37%. Is this really necessary?
Correct me if I’m wrong, but this means that a filer earning 1 billion dollars a year will get a tax reduction (NOT deduction) of 26 million dollars. Why?
From some calculators posted, we will pay more. If your itemized deductions plus your individual exemptions total more than $24,000, you will pay more. We are empty nesters. I can’t imagine folks with large itemized deductions losing $4,000 per kid and only getting the child credit.
If I’m wrong, someone please correct me.
I think a good strategy for the President,is to NOT sign the bill when it lands on his desk.
If he’s so outspoken and brave, he can say something along the lines of “No, I wanted a bill to reduce the tax burden on mom and pop businesses, as well as corporate entities, but people like me really don’t need tax breaks individually. We have enough money.
Why borrow a trillion dollars plus from China (or wherever) to finance a tax cut for the rich? Now go back to your committees and work out something that will stimulate the economy from the bottom up, and not the inverse. Trickle down doesn’t work and never has.”
Because it is usually much better that those who earn $26M decide how the money is spent than the government who is unable to account for $26T in the DOD and HUD.
Have you considered that the $26M could be used to create more quality jobs and/or charitable causes?
Envy much?
This reminds me of the “Nancy Pelosi - We have to pass it to see what’s in it” Lol! Notice that no one ever says this on either side of the aisle, not even in the house debates on C-Span. (C-Span.org)
I encourage everyone to actually witness what is going on in Congress for themselves.
Does anyone here actually watch C-Span? I’ve known about it for years, and watched it occasionally, but last year, when I cancelled my “family package” on cable, it made me take a closer look.
It’s also a great channel to doze by, as there are NO screaming commercials, just your representatives presented LIVE and UNEDITED.
Don’t miss the Washington Journal, generally every day from 7-10 am, where they accept callers-in from all over the country from an actual fair distribution of calls.
Highly entertaining for the concerned. (You- otherwise you wouldn’t be reading this)
It could be, but do you really think it will be? I think so, but only in part.
What I really think is that the corporations, who have already moved off shore will gladly accept the enormous tax deduction and then still decide to stay put.
After all, why pay an American worker 15 dollars an hour, when you can pay a foreign worker for less than half that and still reap the rewards of this windfall tax cut (39%- 21%)?
That is not an incentive to bring headquarters or factories back to the USA as promised. That is naivete.
IOW, they’re going to take the money and run. Now that is incentive.
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