The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Winners, losers of tax plan evaluated
WASHINGTON » Count President Donald Trump among the personal winners in the $1.5 trillion tax package that congressional Republicans are on the verge of passing. It’s not only a political score for Trump but likely a windfall for his real estate empire, too.
Oil drillers would also benefit. So would multimillionaire and billionaire owners of sports teams. The bill creates plenty of losers, too. An estimated 13 million Americans are projected to lose health insurance. Commuters will no longer receive a perk that has saved them money. Some residents of hightax states like New York, New Jersey and California will pay more in taxes.
And millions of American households could face tax hikes in coming years. That’s because their new tax breaks are set to expire after 2025. And their taxes could creep up because the IRS has been directed to use a less generous gauge of inflation in adjusting tax brackets.
Republican lawmakers have sold their far-reaching legislation as benefiting everyone in the long run because, they argue, it will speed up economic growth. But most economists say that any boost in growth would be modest in the long term. And most argue that at least some of the tax benefits will be undermined by the much higher budget deficits that help pay for them.
Among the tax plan’s winners:
The Trump organization
At least temporarily, companies with profits that double as the owner’s personal income would enjoy a substantial tax break. Consider the Trump Organization. It consists of about 500 such “pass-through” entities, according to the president’s lawyers. Rather than pay the top rate of nearly 40 percent, Trump would likely be taxed on these profits at closer to 30 percent.
The final bill also appears to specifically benefit the real estate sector, the bedrock of the Trump family’s wealth, with benefits for depreciating the value of property held by pass-through companies.
Sports teams
Major sports teams will still be able to build and renovate their stadiums with tax-exempt municipal bonds. The House version of the tax bill had initially scrapped access to this form of debt by sports teams.
., a provision that drew objections from the NFL. But the final bill retains it.
Such tax-advantaged public financing should make it easier to have the Oakland Raiders, for example, move to Las Vegas and play in a new $1.9 billion dome. Forbes estimates the Raiders, owned by Mark Davis, to be worth $2.4 billion.
At the same time, many individuals and groups are likely to be on the losing end of the tax legislation. Among them:
The uninsured
The tax bill removes a penalty that was charged to people without health insurance as required by Obama’s 2010 health insurance law as a way to hold costs down for everyone. By eliminating this mandate, the tax bill will likely deprive 13 million people of insurance, according to estimates by the Congressional Budget Office.
The repeal of the health insurance mandate will help preserve revenue to pay for the tax cuts. The government would no longer have to subsidize as many low-income people receiving insurance. This change would generate $314.1 billion over 10 years, according to the Joint Committee on Taxation.
To see more winners and losers from this list, visit NEWS-HERALD.COM