Trump relies on falsehoods to sell his plan

President Trump’s column “Morning in America dawns again” contained numerous misleading assertions:

He said his plan is aimed at middle-class families. In fact, the richest 1% (people making more than $900,000 a year) will receive

80% of the tax cuts by 2027. He said the U.S. is “among the highest-taxed nations in the developed world.” In fact, among advanced economies, we rank

32nd out of 35 in tax revenue as a share of our economy.

He claims that since his plan enlarges the standard deduction, the first $24,000 of a family’s annual income will be tax-free. What he doesn’t mention is that his plan eliminates personal and dependent exemptions, meaning families with children will have more taxable income.

He claims his plan will boost average incomes by $4,000. But that’s based on an analysis of how much corporate tax cuts will trickle down to workers that has been widely debunked.

He misremembers history, conveniently ignoring the severe recession that followed President Reagan’s tax cuts and the boom that followed President Clinton’s tax increases on top earners.

It is telling that Trump relies on falsehoods to sell his tax plan. When recognized for what it is — massive new tax breaks for corporations and the wealthy that will threaten health care, education and other priorities — Americans reject it. Seth Hanlon, senior fellow Center for American Progress Washington, D.C.

I am writing not as a congressman or tax

expert, but as the proud father of a wonderful child with special needs. No group will be hurt more by President Trump’s proposed tax plan than families with children with disabilities.

The plan cuts revenues by $150 billion and $200 billion per year. Deficit hawks will demand that a portion of these revenue cuts be matched by cuts to spending. This could likely mean reductions in the more than $13 billion that the government dedicates to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and the roughly $293 million that the National Institutes of Health spends on research to prevent and treat autism and attention deficit disorder.

Second, the plan eliminates the deduction for out-of-pocket med-

ical expenses. Medical insurance pays nothing toward “experimental” treatments or private schools designed to meet the needs of those with disabilities.

Each parent is entitled to a $4,050 personal exemption for each dependent child, and often such dependent status can continue well into adulthood. Trump’s plan eliminates the exemption for dependents.

His tax plan does contain vague language about increasing the child tax credit to compensate parents who are losing the personal exemption. But this credit is limited to children 16 and younger. So, parents supporting children in their teenage years and older (some children with disabilities will need support for a lifetime) lose the exemption. Rep. Brad Sherman, D-Calif. Washington, D.C.