AS USUAL, TRUMP’S PROPOSALS AREN’T WHAT THEY SEEM

…Trump’s tax plan would increase taxes on single-parent families.

 

The top 1% would continue to receive the benefits of a Trump tax plan

 

Donald Trump’s rhetoric has always said he planned to "massively cut taxes for the middle class, the forgotten people, the forgotten men and women of this country, who built our country."  Unfortunately for the American middle class, that’s not what his so called “Tax Plan” does.  He has also said on NBC that he believes in raising taxes on the wealthy. 

 

As expected, his tax plan doesn’t do that either.

 

According to the RAND Corporation, a non-partisan research group, his plans don’t agree with his statements.

 

Mr. Michael Pollard of RAND said, "Just before the election, after the last debate, 51% of Americans intending to vote for Trump, supported increasing taxes on high-earning individuals."  But Trump's plan does just the opposite, says Lily Batchelder, a law professor at NYU and a visiting fellow at the Tax Policy Center.

 

Per Ms. Batchelder: “If you look at the most wealthy, the top 1% would get about half the benefits of his tax cut, and a millionaire would get an average tax cut of $317,000.  But a family earning between $40,000 and $50,000 a year would get a tax cut of only $560, and millions of middle-class working families will see their tax bills rise under Trump's plan, especially single-parent families.”

 

She also stated: “Donald Trump's plan would boost taxes for many families, with some of the largest increases applying to single-parent families because of the repeal of the ‘head of household’ filing status and personal exemptions.  A single parent with $75,000 in earnings, two school-aged children, and no child care costs would face a tax increase of around $2,440.”

 

According to the Tax Policy Center:

 

>>> A single parent with $50,000 in earnings, three school-aged children, and no child care costs would also face a tax increase of around $1,188.

 

>>> A married couple with $50,000 in earnings, two school-aged children, and no child care costs would face a tax increase of about $150.

 

>>> Other married couples would get virtually no benefit.

 

The Tax Policy Center says that over the first decade, under Trump’s plan, the government would lose $6.2 trillion in gross revenue, producing huge budget deficits that could hurt the economy.

 

Mr. Steve Calk, a Trump economic adviser, says the loss of the head-of-household exemption is partially offset by other changes in Trump's plan.  He takes issue with the Tax Policy Center's analysis and argues there will be big tax cuts for middle-income families.  “Take a family earning $50,000 a year”, Calk says, "and their child-care costs are $7,000 or $8,000 a year. They're going to save 35% on their net tax bracket."

 

But Batchelder says” that calculation is misleading because it focuses on tax rate reduction rather than a family's after-tax income.”  In other words, how much money they would have in their pocket after taxes.

 

Calk argues the personal-income tax cuts, as well as the Trump proposal to reduce the corporate tax rate from 35% to 15%, will help taxpayers by boosting economic growth.

 

This is a classic “trickle down” Republican concept of “Reduce taxes on the rich and the businesses, they will provide more jobs.”  This idea has never worked, and it never will.  All this does is put more profit into the business bank accounts.  Trickle down first was offered up by Ronald Reagan, the only government program that has ever worked was when FDR offered the New Deal to all Americans willing to work for a living.

 

One element of the Trump plan is worth noting: It would eliminate the Federal Estate Tax entirely. But that plan affects less than 1% of Americans that now pay that tax.

 

Ending this tax on people like the Trump family would just lead to an even greater concentration of wealth in the United States.

 

As usual, it’s just another example of Trump not going beyond the basics of his proposals.  He throws out his ideas such as keeping parts of Obamacare, but he ignores going deep enough on his proposals that shows it’s impossible to just keep the good parts of a program while dropping the bad parts.  The world and most plans don’t work in that manner.  They also never have, never will.

 

Sorry Donald, but like a good golf swing, you have to follow through on the whole swing or the idea, not to just offer to the public all the positive parts.

 

Copyright G.Ater  2016