More of the Same: Tax Cuts 2.0 Will Benefit the Rich
news releaseFollowing is a statement from Alan Essig, executive director of the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, regarding the tax bill introduced today by House GOP leadership.
“Once again, lawmakers are attempting to force tax cuts that primarily benefit the wealthy on an unwilling public. Nearly nine months after the tax law passed, polling shows the bill remains unpopular among a majority of voters. But instead of taking stock of public opinion, lawmakers instead are doubling down on unpopular tax policies and attempting to convince the American people that top-heavy tax cuts will improve working families’ economic security.
“An ITEP analysis reveals that nearly 50 percent of the benefit of extending the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act’s individual provisions (which are slated to expire in 2025) would go to the top 5 percent of taxpayers. The tax law was never intended to benefit the middle class and making its temporary provisions permanent will not change this.
“Rhetoric is often meaningless or misleading, but actions and results speak volumes. And so far what we’re hearing and seeing from the initial round of tax cuts are record corporate profits and stagnant or declining real income for average workers. Meanwhile, GOP leaders and the White House are careful to separately talk about their proposals to cut SNAP Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security, education, housing assistance and other poverty-alleviating programs, as though deficit-causing tax cuts are unrelated to insufficient revenue for programs that boost families’ economic security.
“Tax cuts 2.0 is another shameful attempt to impose the will of wealthy donors on the rest of us. It should not see the light of day.”