How to Pass Tax Cuts for the Wealthy: Ensure No One Knows What You’re Doing
How do you pass tax cuts for the wealthy while leaving the middle class behind and exploding the deficit? Pass it so fast that no one knows what’s in it. Just like they did with their attempts to repeal the Affordable Care Act, Congressional Republicans are hiding details about their latest legislative priority from the public.
Let’s review what we know so far about Republicans’ tax framework: they’ll give tax breaks to the wealthiest Americans while leaving the middle class behind and adding $2.4 trillion dollars to the deficit over the next 10 years.
What don’t we know? Anything else. The New York Times highlights how almost no one has seen their legislation. Why? Because they want to jam the bill through Congress without any input. We’ve seen how that worked out in the past with their failed efforts to repeal the ACA. And it won’t be any better this time around. Key excerpts:
Let’s review what we know so far about Republicans’ tax framework: they’ll give tax breaks to the wealthiest Americans while leaving the middle class behind and adding $2.4 trillion dollars to the deficit over the next 10 years.
What don’t we know? Anything else. The New York Times highlights how almost no one has seen their legislation. Why? Because they want to jam the bill through Congress without any input. We’ve seen how that worked out in the past with their failed efforts to repeal the ACA. And it won’t be any better this time around. Key excerpts:
“Almost no one on or off Capitol Hill has seen the tax overhaul bill that Republicans are drafting behind closed doors. Congressional staff members have not settled on many key details. Yet party leaders are preparing to move ahead on a timeline even more aggressive than their unsuccessful attempts to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act.”
“The swift pace to complete, release and quickly vote on a tax cut is aimed at leaving little time for the type of dissent that has scuttled previous tax proposals.”
“The speed is striking — and strategic — for tax legislation that lobbyists believe could span 1,000 pages. Republicans hope the breakneck pace will help hold their narrow Senate majority together against what will almost certainly be a deluge of lobbying and Democratic criticism.”
“The last major tax overhaul, which passed in 1986, took nearly 11 months from introduction to presidential signature.”
“Mr. Trump and Republican leaders in Congress released an outline of their plan in September, which included reducing the corporate income tax rate to 20 percent from 35 percent, a doubling of the standard deduction for individual income tax filers and the elimination of several widely claimed deductions for individuals. The framework put down a marker but left dozens of questions unresolved, many of them potentially worth billions of dollars to businesses and the federal government.”
“The swift pace to complete, release and quickly vote on a tax cut is aimed at leaving little time for the type of dissent that has scuttled previous tax proposals.”
“The speed is striking — and strategic — for tax legislation that lobbyists believe could span 1,000 pages. Republicans hope the breakneck pace will help hold their narrow Senate majority together against what will almost certainly be a deluge of lobbying and Democratic criticism.”
“The last major tax overhaul, which passed in 1986, took nearly 11 months from introduction to presidential signature.”
“Mr. Trump and Republican leaders in Congress released an outline of their plan in September, which included reducing the corporate income tax rate to 20 percent from 35 percent, a doubling of the standard deduction for individual income tax filers and the elimination of several widely claimed deductions for individuals. The framework put down a marker but left dozens of questions unresolved, many of them potentially worth billions of dollars to businesses and the federal government.”