Taxes

“A well-designed tax reform would take multiple times as long to write as the Republicans are allotting themselves. The Tax Reform Act of 1986 began two years earlier. The Republicans are rushing their plan through Congress in weeks, in part to avoid the potential loss of a Senate vote in Alabama, and in part because they understand that extended public debate and scrutiny of their already-unpopular plan would only subject them to more public backlash.”  More …

Wall Street vets say an attack on blue states could start a chain reaction in the housing market. “Will this be the first tax cut in American history that actually results in a recession?”  More …

“There’s a lot that’s controversial about tax policy, but not everything is controversial. It’s obvious that if you cut a tax that’s only paid by married couples who’ve amassed at least $11 million that you are helping rich people. It’s obvious that if you enact a special discount tax rate for people who own LLCs then you are helping Donald Trump, who owns a ton of them. And it’s obvious that if part of your plan is permanent and part of it is temporary, and the part you made temporary is the part that helps the middle class, then helping the middle class wasn’t your priority.”  More ...

“There’s no economic justification whatsoever for a tax cut at this time. U.S. GDP is growing, unemployment is close to 4 percent (below what is commonly considered “full employment”), corporate profits are at record levels and stock markets are soaring. It makes no sense to add any federal government-induced stimulus to all this private sector-caused economic activity, let alone a tax cut as big as this one.”  More …

“The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act doesn’t just redistribute trillions of dollars to corporate shareholders; or provide a windfall to wealthy business owners; or repeal the tax on estates worth more than $5.5 million dollars: It also allows the heirs of those estates to avoid paying any capital gains on their inherited assets — while ending a tax credit for adoption expenses which was specifically designed to encourage adoption.”  More …

“From early in the 2016 presidential campaign, Donald Trump swore he’d do away with the so-called carried-interest loophole, the notorious tax break that allows highly compensated private-equity managers, real estate investors (Trump!) and venture capitalists to be taxed at a much lower rate than other professionals.Yet the sweeping tax legislation released by House Republicans leaves the treatment of carried interest untouched.”  More …

And just wait until you see what happens to you when the GOP eliminates your 401(k) deduction. Good luck with your golden years.  More …

“The measure is estimated to add $1.5 trillion to the deficit over the next 10 years, and contains about $4 trillion in domestic spending cuts.” Medicare and Medicaid on the chopping block.  More …

“House GOP ends its tough talk about spending and deficits in a rush to cut taxes.”  More …