GOP tax plan a boon to 1 percenters
I’m writing this letter on Halloween evening, and my subject is the tax plan that President Donald Trump and the Republicans in Congress are telling us is a great boon to the middle class.
In September, Scott Horsley, of NPR (Georgia Public Broadcasting) quoted Trump as saying, “The rich will not be gaining at all with this plan.” That is not quite what analysts at the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center found when it studied the proposal. Horsley said that it estimated that, more than half the savings would go to the top 1 percent — people who earn more than $732,800.
Of course we can’t be sure what Congress will be voting on since the plan isn’t finished yet, but cutting the tax rates for everyone will benefit the rich the most. In addition the plan will directly benefit the richest by eliminating the alternative minimum tax and the estate tax.
The Tax Policy Center estimates that the average middle-class taxpayer would save less than $1,000, while those in the top 1 percent would save almost $150,000. The lowest tier would have their tax rate increased from 10 percent to 12 percent.
I haven’t even mentioned the cut in the corporate tax rate and the magic effect it will have on the economy — allowing all these tax cuts without increasing the deficit.
Probably we will have a tax bill by the time this letter is published. Let’s hope the final version is more “treat” and less “trick” than the initial proposal.
Frank Flaumenhaft
Hilton Head Island
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This story was originally published November 7, 2017 at 11:57 AM with the headline "GOP tax plan a boon to 1 percenters."