Toomey touts GOP tax reform
POTTSTOWN » On the heels of a close vote Thursday night in the House of Representatives that cleared the way for tax reform legislation, U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey paid a visit to VideoRay Friday morning to meet with business leaders about what comes next.
Among the highlights of the Republican tax reform plan Toomey outlined are:
• an increase of the “standard deduction” up to $24,000;
• an increase in the child tax credit;
• the repeal of the alternative minimum tax and estate taxes;
• a lowering of tax rate;
• the reduction in the number of tax rates from eight to three.
Calling reports that the initiative is a “$1.5 trillion tax cut” a “mischaracterization,” Toomey did not dispute the number in lost revenue to the U.S. Treasury but said “that assessment does not take into account what I think is very, very likely to happen, which is a significant increase in economic growth.”
On the individual level, “we think it’s important for middle income, working class families to have a reduction in their tax burden, and to have a simplification in the process by which they file,” Toomey said.
Increasing the standard deduction will mean “many families, won’t have any taxable income at all because the deduction will be increased to $24,000, so if your income is below that, that’s a zero tax rate,” Toomey said. the corporate
Toomey did not get too detailed, largely because the actual legislation has yet to be written.
However, that has not stopped some from trying to figure out the impact if it is signed into law by President Trump.
What’s the Impact?
The 2015 estimates by the U.S. Census put the median income in Pottstown borough at $43,075 and in the 19464 area code at $54,848.
According to a “best guess” web calculator posted by MarketWatch, a married couple in the borough with two children would see a refund of
TOOMEY » PAGE 11