Tax bill would be unjustly regressive

Sen. Rob Portman wants to eliminate the deduction for state and local taxes because he feels it results in regressive taxation. As reported in the Friday Dispatch article “Senate bill gets rid of property deduction,” Portman said, “(I)f you look at state and local taxes, it is something that is relatively regressive .... (O) ver 50 percent of the benefit goes to people making over $200,000 a year.”

By Portman’s standard, the House tax bill is significantly regressive. It would dramatically and disproportionately reduce the taxes of the rich. An analysis by the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center released on Wednesday (correcting its Nov. 6 release) found that 56.6 percent of the benefit of the House bill in 2018 would go to the top 20 percent of income earners ($149,400 per year and higher), with 35.4 percent of the benefit going to the top 5 percent ($307,900 and up).

According to the center, the average tax reduction in 2018 for the top 20 percent of taxpayers would be $ 4,840 ($37,440 for the top 1 percent), compared to an average of only $840 for the middle 20 percent of taxpayers.

By 2027 the tax-cut benefit would be even more skewed in favor of the rich, the center found.

Portman and his colleagues in Congress should vote against the proposed tax changes, which are unjustly and significantly regressive and would exacerbate America’s growing income and wealth inequality.

Jim Leonard Columbus