A TAX QUIZ FOR LIZ
Lindstrom wants senator to reveal whether she’ll repeal tax reform bill if Dems get control
GOP U.S. Senate candidate Beth Lindstrom is calling out incumbent Sen. Elizabeth Warren for opposing the GOP tax reform bill, demanding to know if she will vote to reverse the plan if Democrats regain control of Congress this year. “You fought tooth and nail to stop these reforms from happening,” Lindstrom said in a video released today. “And you didn’t mince any words about how bad it would all be. Senator, you were wrong. Sen. Warren, my question to you is, would you repeal this tax cut legislation if the Democrats regain control of the Congress?” The longtime Republican operative, in her broadside calling on Warren to tell voters what her plans are for the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, vowed to help preserve the tax legislation if elected. The $1.5 trillion tax code overhaul — the largest in more than 30 years — passed the Republican-led Congress and was signed into law by President Trump last month.
The legislation cuts the corporate income tax rate from 35 percent to 21 percent, which Republicans contend will boost economic growth, create jobs and increase wages. It also reduces the tax rates for individuals, while almost doubling the standard tax deduction and increasing the child tax credit. The law also repeals Obamacare’s individual mandate requiring people to purchase health insurance and eliminates the tax penalties for people who don’t.
But Democratic lawmakers, all of whom voted against the plan, say it gives big tax breaks to businesses and the wealthy at the expense of the middle and working classes, whose benefits are projected to be more short-lived, while adding $1.5 trillion to the national debt.
Warren, on the floor of the Senate last month, called it a tax “heist.”
“A terrible day for millions of hardworking people, but it’s a great day for giant multinational corporations and billionaires who fund Republican campaigns across the country,” Warren said. “Every fundraiser, every fat check from a billionaire and every champagne and caviar party has been about getting to this day — the day when the politicians they put in charge of Washington would pay them back with a $1.5 trillion giveaway.”
A Warren spokeswoman yesterday wouldn’t say whether the senator would back a repeal, but reiterated her opposition.
“Sen. Warren believes no middle-class family in Massachusetts should pay a single penny more while giant corporations and billionaires get handed more than $1.5 trillion in giveaways so Republicans can slash Medicare and Social Security,” the spokeswoman said, declining further comment.
Lindstrom, meanwhile, said the tax package already has resulted in companies raising wages and paying bonuses.
“Here in Massachusetts, 80 percent of our residents will see a smaller individual tax bill,” she said. “Companies are not only rewarding their workers with higher pay, but they are increasing their charitable giving and planning investments which leads to more growth and more jobs.”