GOP tax plan would cost me $6,000 — how about you?
The tax “reform” bill passed by the House of Representatives is claimed to represent a tax cut for the middle class. It is not. Proponents of the bill are lying to us.
I have calculated our 2016 taxes using the tax plan proposed by the House bill and I found that our taxes would have been over $6,000 higher under the House plan, which eliminates itemized deductions for medical expenses and for state and most local taxes and raises the tax rate for taxable incomes between $24,000 and $90,000 from 10 percent to 12 percent.
I recommend that all taxpayers do the calculation and see how they fare under the proposed tax code. I predict that you will be, as I was, in for a shock if you have been itemizing deductions.
Another item in the House bill also takes from the middle class and gives to the super rich. Should I leave any appreciated assets upon my death, my children will have to pay capital gains taxes on them, unlike in existing tax law. This change is part of the plan to eliminate the estate tax, which would benefit only the super-rich.
Whatever happened to fiscal responsibility? This bill would irresponsibly increase the national debt by at least $1.5 trillion over 10 years.
Changes to taxation law is not a team sport. It affects lives. This tax plan is an outrage, a rape of the middle class that benefits only large corporations and the super-rich. It must be rejected.
John Kiebler
Hilton Head Island
How to submit a letter
Send letters to the editor by email to letters@islandpacket.com or letters@beaufortgazette.com.
Or you may submit a letter online.
Letters to the editor must be 250 words or fewer and include your first and last names, street address and daytime telephone number so we can verify the letter before publication.
You are limited to one letter per 30 days.
Letters may be edited for length, style, grammar, taste and libel. All letters submitted become the property of The Island Packet and The Beaufort Gazette.
Letters will be accepted only if they are typed into the body of an email, not sent as an email attachment.
This story was originally published November 24, 2017 at 6:00 AM with the headline "GOP tax plan would cost me $6,000 — how about you?."