Taxes

Fight Harder And Smarter Against Trumpism

December 24, 2017 Sonali Kolhatkar, truthdig.com Strategize! Austerity, Taxes, Trump

The Republican Party is celebrating the passage of a deeply unpopular and comprehensive rewrite of the U.S. tax code, which critics argue is skewed unjustly toward the rich. Members of the party, however, are convinced that we will learn to love the new tax code, as House Speaker Paul Ryan said Tuesday. “When people see their withholding improving, when they see jobs occurring, when they see bigger paychecks, a fairer tax system, a simpler tax code, that’s what going to produce the results,” he said at his weekly press conference. “Results are going to make this popular,” he added, sounding like parents telling their child, “When you’re older, you’re going to thank me for forcing you to take violin lessons.”

Truth About Power And Capitalism: A Socialist Response To Tax Bill

December 23, 2017 By Richard D. Wolff, Truthout.org Educate! Capitalism, Inequality, Tax Reform, Taxes

In response to the passage of the GOP tax bill, many voices are now offering variations on the theme of "speak truth to power." It's true enough that tax overhaul, coming after 30 years of widening inequality, widens it further. It is likewise yet another exercise in trickle-down economics, the policy promise that direct economic help to corporations and the rich will eventually lift up the rest of us. The GOP and Trump conveniently disregard the countless economists who have shown that trickle-down is a false promise. However, the limitation of "speaking truth to power" is and always was that it risks leaving us with the truth and them with the power. In today's world, the GOP, Trump and the corporate leaders who sustain them have the power to treat truths as so much "fake news" or simply to ignore them as they push their agendas.

Before House & Senate Vote, Here’s 13 Worst Things In Tax Scam

December 21, 2017 Staff, commondreams.org Educate! Congress, Tax Reform, Taxes

Tax experts warn the proposal prioritizes wealthiest Americans—like President Donald Trump, his billionaire cabinet, and the many millionaires in Congress—at the expense of working families with children. As opponents continue to raise alarms about the GOP tax plan being pushed by President Donald Trump and Republican lawmakers—with the House expected to vote Tuesday afternoon and the Senate later in the day—a new analysis details 13 ways the proposed tax cuts for corporations and wealthy individuals will negatively impact American families and the U.S. economy while lavishing rewards on corporations and the rich.

Activists Disrupt Tax Vote In Final Show Of Defiance

December 20, 2017 Daniel Marans, huffingtonpost.com Resist! health, Tax cuts for the rich, Taxes

WASHINGTON ― At least 63 activists were arrested Tuesday during protests of the Republican tax bill and how it could limit access to health care. Progressive activists disrupted the final House of Representatives vote on the tax bill, yelling “Shame!” and other disparaging chants during the speeches and parliamentary procedures that preceded the vote. To prolong the disruptions, most of the chants were done individually rather than as a group. Once a protester rose from the gallery to speak up, staffers quickly removed them from the chamber. They were subsequently subject to arrest by the U.S. Capitol Police, which reported 18 arrests.

Tax Bill’s Cost Could Hit $2.2 Trillion Over Next Decade

December 20, 2017 By Joel Friedman, cbpp.org Educate! New Economy, Tax Reform, Taxes

The Republican tax bill is loaded with expiring provisions and delayed tax increases that help it comply with budget rules but hide its likely real cost; if policymakers down the road don’t let these provisions take effect, as leading Republicans say they prefer, the bill’s cost would be about $2.2 trillion over the first decade (2018 to 2027) — or almost 50 percent more than the Joint Committee on Taxation’s (JCT) official cost estimate of $1.5 trillion. The final bill relies even more on these sunsets and delayed tax increases than previous versions of it. That’s not surprising, given that House-Senate negotiators were, according to Senator Ron Johnson, “literally trying to squeeze about $2 trillion in tax reform into a $1.5 trillion box.”

Tax Bill To Preserve Critical Credits For Wind, Solar & Electric Vehicles

December 19, 2017 Georgina Gustin Educate! Clean Energy, New Economy, Solar Energy, Tax Reform, Taxes, Wind

The booming renewable energy industry is breathing a wary sigh of relief as Congress prepares to vote this week on a sweeping tax bill that preserves critical tax credits for wind energy, solar power and electric vehicles. As lawmakers were working over the past week to resolve issues between the House and Senate versions of the bill, the clean energy industry kept a keen eye out for details of the legislation, including provisions in the House bill that would have weakened or eliminated the tax credits for renewables. By rejecting that approach, Republicans sent a message that they won't back attempts to kneecap ongoing growth in renewables, despite pressure from the oil and gas industry to scale back incentives for clean energy.

Arrested To Show Senator Collins What We Think Of Tax Bill

December 19, 2017 By Jim Betts, Sarah Bigney, Tina Marie Davidson, Erin Oberson, and Nick Paquet Resist! Protesters Arrested, Protests, Tax Reform, Taxes

Last week, in the midst of congressional debate on the Republicans’ disastrous tax plan, we went to Senator Susan Collins’ office in Bangor to join the discussion and talk about how the bill will impact people like us. Looking to have a constructive conversation about her vote on the Senate’s version of the tax plan, we were met with the stale talking points that Republicans around the country are repeating in uniformity — so we stayed until we could speak directly with Senator Collins on the phone or in person to get real answers, until our concerns were heard. We need her to know that we won’t stand for a plan that will undermine our health care, our financial well being or our children’s future.

Tax Cut That Benefits Sen. Corker Was To Get Votes For Passage

December 18, 2017 By David Sirota Educate! Tax Reform, Taxes

Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, the majority whip, on Sunday said a tax provision, which could personally enrich key Republican lawmakers, was added to the final tax bill as part of an effort to “cobble together the votes we needed to get this bill passed.” Cornyn was pressed about the provision on ABC’s "This Week," after an International Business Times investigation showed that Sen. Bob Corker of Tennessee suddenly switched his vote to “yes” after GOP leaders added the provision, which could boost Corker’s real estate income. A top Democratic senator, Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, responded to Cornyn’s explanation by saying the language put into the bill also “would be a windfall to Donald Trump.”

Indiana Grad Students Protesting Tax Bill

December 15, 2017 Sarah Jaffe, truth-out.org Resist! Protests, Student Activism, Tax Reform, Taxes

Today we bring you a conversation with Tracey Hutchings-Goetz, Edward Brudney, Justin Knight, Kathryn Lehman, Amanda Waterhouse and Liam Kingsley. They are Ph.D. candidates or graduate students at Indiana University, and all are involved in Campus Action for Democracy. They discuss their recent occupation of their congressman's office in opposition to the tax bill and how disconnected they felt from their representative, who was unwilling to engage these constituents. Sarah Jaffe: I am talking to all of you because you had an occupation of your congressman's office Monday. Tell us about that action and how that went.

Tax Bill: Stealing Money From College Education For Tax Cuts For Wealthy

December 14, 2017 Jeff Bryant, educationopportunitynetwork.org Educate! Higher Education, Tax cuts for the rich, Tax Reform, Taxes

New tax bills Congress just passed with zero input or support from Democrats hit higher education hard, but new legislation House Republicans are crafting will likely worsen the damage. As The Wall Street Journal reports [paywall], the House education committee recently gave a preview to its new legislation, a long overdue reauthorization of the Higher Education Act (HEA). Like recent tax bills passed by the GOP-controlled House and Senate, this proposed rewrite of HEA will have the effect of further constricting learning opportunities for students, adding to the costs students and families take on for education, and steering more public money for learning to private businesses.

Tax Bill: More Secret Campaign Cash In Elections

December 14, 2017 Arn Pearson, exposedbycmd.org Educate! Electoral Politics, Tax Reform, Taxes

Last week Senate Republicans passed a tax bill that hands massive tax breaks to corporations and the rich at the expense of low-income and middle-class Americans. Written behind closed doors with the help of 6,000 lobbyists and rammed through before anyone could read it, the bill offers Christmas presents for special interests, like eliminating a tax that private jet owners have fought the federal government over and tax breaks hedge-fund managers living in the Virgin Islands. And it sets the stage for a sweeping attack on the New Deal and Great Society reforms of the past century that built America’s middle class. But as bad as that is, things could get even worse.

Media Downplay Class Warfare As ‘GOP Victory’

December 8, 2017 Ben Norton, fair.org Educate! Class Struggle, Congress, Electoral Politics, Tax Reform, Taxes

By Ben Norton for FAIR - The fallacy of “neutral,” “both sides” journalism rings loud and clear in corporate media reporting on the Republican Party’s tax plan. The GOP bill, passed by the Senate in the early hours of December 2 and described by major media outlets as a “tax cut,” is in reality an explicit handout to large companies and the ultra-rich that will actually increase taxes on working-class Americans. But under the cover of a shallow understanding of “balance,” corporate media have internalized the outlandish idea that it is “partisan,” and thus not “neutral,” to acknowledge the undeniably destructive effects of particular political policies. These inconvenient facts are hence not emphasized in news reporting, and cannot be presented alone without being “balanced” with an opposing perspective—even if that contrary view is demonstrably false. In the case of the GOP legislation, which will slash the corporate tax rate and add some $1.4 trillion to the national debt, the deception took a variety of forms. The primary distortion, as noted, was portraying the Senate GOP bill as a massive “tax break.” Headlines and reports spoke of “tax cuts” and “tax breaks” vaguely, without indicating that the breaks were not for Americans as a whole, but rather for corporations and the rich.

Hundreds Storm Capitol Hill Offices To Denounce GOP Tax Bill

December 6, 2017 Julia Conley, commondreams.org Resist! Congress, Protests, Tax Reform, Taxes

By Julia Conley for Common Dreams - Outraged demonstrators arrested outside of Republican lawmakers' offices as House and Senate prepare #GOPTaxScam for conference committee. Opponents of the Republican tax plan moving through Congress showed they were not backing down on Tuesday as hundreds of protesters chanted "Kill the bill!" and "Tax the rich, not the sick!" as they assembled outside the offices of GOP lawmakers. While numerous arrests were made in the crowded hallways, the demonstrators made it clear that the fight to defeat the bill is not over yet. Demonstrators targeted Reps. Ryan Costello (R-Penn.), Barbara Comstock (R-Va.), and other Republicans who voted for the tax plan, visiting their offices and telling staffers how they would be impacted by the law. Both Costello and Comstock are up for re-election in 2018. Capitol Police began arresting protesters at about 2:30pm outside Costello's office, with chants of "Kill the bill, Costello!" continuing as people were led away in handcuffs.

Tax Bill Impact: What Happens To Renewable Energy?

December 6, 2017 Georgina Gustin, insideclimatenews.org Educate! New Economy, Renewable Energy, Solar Energy, Taxes

By Georgina Gustin for Inside Climate News - The Senate voted early Saturday to approve a major overhaul of the U.S. tax code that critics say would decimate clean energy investments while continuing to hand out tax breaks to the oil and gas industries. The sweeping tax system overhaul bill—which represents the biggest corporate tax cut in the country's history and would reach into many areas of American lives—also contains language that would open the door for oil and gas companies to drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. While the Senate proposal preserves tax credits that have spurred huge growth in the wind and solar industries, it contains an obscure provision that could undercut investment in renewables. Larger challenges for clean energy lie in the House of Representatives' tax proposal, which passed in mid-November. That version takes a whack at a bundle of clean energy tax credits that were extended in 2015 in exchange for lifting a decades-old ban on crude oil exports. Now, as the two chambers begin work on reconciling their versions of the bill, the clean energy industry is bracing for a fight. Here's what the two tax bills, as currently written, would do. The Senate bill contains a provision that has raised alarm across the clean energy industry: The Base Erosion Anti-Abuse Tax (BEAT) provision would subject tax credits given to companies with operations overseas to a new, 100 percent tax. That provision, according to a letter sent to the Senate by clean energy groups this week, would send investors fleeing and put $12 billion in clean-energy investments at risk. It says the impact would be "devastating."

People Power Can Still Stop The Tax Theft, Here’s How

December 5, 2017 Taylor Lincoln, citizenvox.org Educate! Lobbying, Tax Reform, Taxes

By Taylor Lincoln for Citizen Vox - A total of 6,243 lobbyists have been listed on lobbying disclosure forms as working on issues involving the word “tax” in 2017. That equals 57 percent of the lobbyists who have reported any lobbying activity in 2017 and is equivalent to more than 11 lobbyists for every member of Congress. Each of the 20 organizations hiring the most lobbyists on tax issues reported working on “tax reform” specifically, meaning their lobbying was relevant to the ongoing debate on overhauling the tax code. Corporate tax rates, repatriation of corporate profits, intra-organizational transfers of assets, deductibility of interest, and depreciation rules were among frequently listed topics among the organizations. Twenty corporations and trade associations have hired at least 50 lobbyists apiece. The organization hiring the most lobbyists to work on tax issues was the U.S. Chamber of Commerce (100). The Business Roundtable, an association of CEOs of the nation’s largest corporations, deployed 51 lobbyists. Twenty-six industry sectors have hired at least 150 lobbyists each to work on tax issues, led by pharmaceuticals (653) and insurance (600). Five corporations have hired at least 15 separate lobbying firms in additional to their in-house lobbyists to work for them on tax issues so far in 2017: Comcast Corp. (23 firms), Anheuser-Busch (19), Verizon Communications, (17), Microsoft (16) and Altria Group (15).

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