GOP tax bill is a loser

The “tax cut” bill currently before the Senate helps big corporations and wealthy people but does little or nothing for the middle class (“As clock ticks on tax bill, White House signals a compromise,” Nov. 19). Some people will see a small, temporary decrease in their taxes, but that decrease may be wiped out because the bill eliminates deductions that many people use. Here is what the bill does:

It eliminates the ACA’s individual mandate, causing 13 million people to lose their health insurance, a conservative estimate. That will create a sicker, more expensive risk pool, raising premiums and making insurance unaffordable for many.

The Senate tax bill eliminates the estate tax for people with estates over $11 million or $22 million for a couple, twice what current law allows. How many Maryland families will benefit from this tax break?

A New York Times analysis concludes that almost half of cuts in the Senate bill would go to people earning $200,000 or more; 10-15 million taxpayers earning less than $100,000 would see a tax increase. Finally, 80 percent of people who earn between $50,000 and $75,000 would be worse off.

Tax cut proponents argue that corporate tax cuts will spur economic growth that will generate investment, create jobs and raise wages. Few economists agree that will happen because previous attempts to implement such a plan have failed. The cuts will instead go to stock buy-backs and investors, again benefiting only the wealthy.

Corporations will get a tax cut from 35 percent to 20 percent based on faulty assumptions about economic growth. In addition, the corporate tax cut is permanent, while tax cuts for individuals are not. The Senate bill eliminates individual income tax rate cuts in 2026. Any help that bill gives middle-class people in Maryland will be temporary.

The Senate bill eliminates deductions for state and local taxes and sales taxes. Maryland’s state income tax ranges from 2 percent to 5.75 percent. Maryland’s sales tax is 6 percent. Maryland property taxes average over $2,000 per year and the Senate bill eliminates deductions for those, too.

Maryland has 740,000 people over 65 (12.3 percent). The Senate bill increases the deficit up to $1.5 trillion dollars unless Congress can cut enough other programs to compensate. One proposal cuts Medicaid, a program that supports most people in nursing homes, children and people with disabilities by $1.3 trillion. Without cuts that large in existing programs, the Senate bill will increase the deficit causing automatic, immediate cuts to Medicare of $25 billion. Will that help our senior citizens?

Sens. Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen will vote no on this bill. However, to defeat it, at least three Republican senators must vote no as well. If you have family or friends in states represented by Republican senators, urge them to contact their senators and tell them to vote no.