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What the tax bill means to average American |
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December 23, 2017 |
By U.S. Representative Raul Labrador
This week, I voted for a major tax reform bill –
the first substantial overhaul of our tax code
in 31 years. This bill passed Congress and
President Trump signed it into law. I supported
this legislation because it will give
much-needed tax relief to the majority of Idaho
families and businesses.
Specifically, it creates a flatter, simpler tax
code, which includes the following changes:
• Lowering individual tax rates for low- and middle-income Americans
• Nearly doubling the standard deduction
• Expanding the child tax credit from $1,000 to $2,000
• Lowering the corporate tax rate from 35% to 21%
• Repealing the Obamacare individual mandate tax
What does this mean for everyday Americans? For
the average family that is working paycheck to
paycheck, this tax bill will lower their taxes
by an average of 60 percent. The average single
mother will receive a 70 percent tax cut.
While I would have preferred to see Congress go
further in eliminating loopholes, lowering the
overall rates, and reducing spending to avoid
increasing our debt, the bill we passed is a
good start. As far as I’m concerned, any time we
can allow Idahoans to keep more of their
hard-earned money, that’s a good thing.
It’s also worth noting that three times in
recent history – under Presidents Kennedy,
Reagan, and George W. Bush – major tax relief
was followed by significant job creation,
stronger growth and even higher tax revenue
(because of the stronger economy). Under
President Reagan alone, major tax relief helped
create 14.8 million new jobs over a five-year
period. We should expect this week’s tax bill to
stimulate our economy and create more jobs.
The Democrats, however, don’t see it that way.
They’ve resorted to a series of lies and
exaggerations to drive public opposition to the
bill.
For starters, they keep claiming the Republican
tax plan will raise taxes on middle class
families.
“On average, middle class families earning less
than $86,000 would see a tax increase under the
Republican ‘tax reform plan,’” said Democrat
Senator Kamala Harris.
The Washington Post's official fact-checker,
however, said this was blatantly untrue,
awarding Harris and other Democrats “four
Pinocchios” (their worst rating) for their
“whopper” claims on the Republican tax plan.
"In their haste to condemn the GOP tax plan,
Democrats have spread far and wide the false
claim that families making less than $86,100 on
average will face a hefty tax hike," said the
Post’s fact-checker. "Actually, it’s the
opposite … Most families in that income range
would get a tax cut."
The left-leaning Tax Policy Center (TPC) put
together a report on the Republican tax plan
confirming that the vast majority of American
families will get a tax cut.
"We find the bill would reduce taxes on average
for all income groups in both 2018 and 2025,"
TPC said. In the first year, 91 percent of
middle-class taxpayers and 80 percent of all
taxpayers would get a tax cut, according to TPC.
TPC also disproved House Democrat Leader Nancy
Pelosi’s myth that “83 percent of [the
Republican tax bill’s] benefits [go] to the
wealthiest one percent.”
In fact, it’s the opposite, with the bottom 80%
getting a larger share of the tax cuts than the
top 1%. The bottom 80% will get 35% of the tax
cuts while the top 1% will only get 21% of the
cuts, according to TPC.
The Democrats are also lying when they say the
Republican tax bill will cause people to lose
their health insurance. “We’re kicking 13
million people off health insurance to give tax
cuts to the wealthy,” charged Senate Democrat
Leader Chuck Schumer.
Once again, this didn’t fly with the Washington
Post’s fact-checker. He awarded Schumer “two
Pinocchios,” although I personally think he
deserves four. Why? The Republican plan isn’t
kicking a single person off their health
insurance. What we are doing is repealing the
Obamacare individual mandate tax.
No longer will people be taxed for not having
insurance.
To quote the Post’s fact-checker, “the impact of
repealing the individual mandate is mostly
describing a voluntary action not to buy health
insurance.” That’s exactly right, which is why
the fact-checker charged Schumer and other
Democrats with “using inaccurate language that
we have warned Democrats about before.”
Unfortunately, the Democrats’ misrepresentations
are having an impact, thanks in large part to
the national media, which repeat them verbatim.
According to a CNN poll taken just before the
House vote, 55 percent of Americans oppose the
tax bill.
But here’s where things get interesting: During
the House debate, the Washington Post
acknowledged, “The tax bill is likely to become
more popular after passage.” Why? Because “for
at least the next eight years, the undeniable
math is that most people are going to pay less.”
But don’t tell Nancy Pelosi that. She says the
tax bill is “Armageddon.”
The Democrats should be embarrassed for coming
up with these lies. It’s fine if they disagree
with the tax plan. But it is malpractice to lie
and misinform the public. The reality is, with
the help of fellow Republicans, the President
kept his promise. This is a positive step that
allows the majority of Americans to keep more of
what they earn.
This was a great week for the American people
and a fitting end to 2017. And we are going to
keep working hard to get even better results for
2018. |
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