WHY DOES THE GOP CONTINUE TO LIE ABOUT THEIR TAX PLAN?

…This GOP Tax Plan will not help save America’s Middle Class

 

The Republican Tax Plan would not pass a lie detector test

 

A very real question was asked on one of this weeks news programs.  That question was: “If their plan is really so great, why are they not selling it on it’s merits?”

 

Let’s look at what they are using as the plan’s “talking points”.

 

Lying Example A: “The tax cuts will pay for themselves.”

 

Republicans claim that their tax cuts will unleash boundless economic growth. Through that growth, we will all become richer. And as our incomes rise, tax revenue will, too. Hence, the tax cuts will be free to everyone.

 

Some Republicans even argue that the bill is so pro-growth that it will reduce the federal debt.

 

However, these same Republicans have been unable to locate any credible tax organization that thinks their proposals will do anything other than lose a lot of money.

 

So, what’s the Republicans’ solution to this issue:

 

“We’ll just lie about what the experts say!”

 

In a recent interview, a Republican lawmaker cited a Tax Foundation report that he claimed showed that the Senate bill would reduce deficits once you accounted for growth.  But the Tax Foundation, which is not a liberal group, but a center-right think tank, it uses highly optimistic assumptions about the economic effects of tax cuts.  And on the down-side, its analysts have also determined that the Republican bill would increase deficits by a half-trillion dollars over the next decade.

 

That doesn’t sound much like a bill that would pay for itself.

 

Lying Example B: “The tax plan primarily helps the middle class.”

 

Nope, not even close. The major benefits will go to wealthy Americans, both in raw dollar terms and as a percentage of income.  The New York University School of Law has clearly  illustrated this fact.

 

So  that you understand: “Under the Senate bill, households making more than $1 million receive an average tax cut of nearly $50,000 in 2027; those making $40,000 to $50,000 get an average cut of only $480.”

 

The details of the plan show that lots of lower- and middle-income families won’t benefit at all.  In fact, many of these families will be worse off.

 

Under both the Republican Senate and House bills, nearly half of households making less than $100,000 will see neither a change in their taxes, or they may see a tax hike in 2019.  This is according to calculations from the chief economist at the Tax Analysts. By 2027, taxes of households in that group will rise to 61% under the House bill.  This is due to phasing down some of the provisions that would help middle-class families.

 

Things look even worse for this group when you recall that deficit-financed tax cuts must eventually be paid for “somehow”, which is not explained. “Somehow” would likely includes cuts to government spending, which would disproportionately affect lower and middle-income families.

 

Lying Example C: “The bill will hurt those like President Trump.”

 

Actually, since we have not seen Trump’s latest tax returns, we don’t know what either bill would do to his taxes.  However, based on what we do know, it’s safe to say he and his family stand to benefit by a lot.

 

For example, both the Senate and House tax bills would repeal the alternative minimum tax (AMT), which did cost Trump tens of millions of dollars in the (leaked) Trump tax return we have from 2005. Both bills offer big tax cuts for income from “pass-through” corporations which includes all of the Trump Organizations. And both bills would either kill or scale back estate taxes.  This would allow Trump’s kids to inherit his fortune totally tax-free. 

 

Lying Example D:  “This will be the biggest tax cut in history. “   NOT!

 

The largest tax cut ever was back in 1872.  This is according to the Tax History Project Director. That’s when Congress decided to get rid of income taxes entirely.

 

If you think going back 145 years is unfair, note that it’s also not even the biggest tax cut in the past 100 years. Or the past 50 years.  In fact, it’s not even the biggest tax cut in the past five years, in either inflation-adjusted dollar terms or as a share of gross domestic product, according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.

 

Lying Example E: “The economy desperately needs a big tax cut.”

 

Actually, according to the experts, measures such as the unemployment suggest that the economy is doing well. The time for deficit-financed stimulus (like their plans) is when the economy is in recession, not in one of the longest expansions on record as was started under President Obama.   If we go the way the Republican tax bills would require, we’ll have nothing left to use when the economy actually gets in trouble, as it always does….eventually

 

So, all this asks the question:  “Why all the lying about these bogus tax plans?”

 

The only answer that seems to make any sense is that the Republican lawmakers know they’re offering a bogus tax plan that the public doesn’t want. Therefore, to save face, they must make promises that the tax plan doesn’t do, just so they can say they passed something they promised in their Republican President’s first year in office.

 

My personal explanation for all their lying is that the Republicans have no idea of how to govern the country, and all these blatant lies are just continuing to prove my case.

 

Copyright G.Ater  2017