Washington DC – With Joe Biden in the White House and Democrats controlling the Senate, nothing significant that the Republicans want to do will happen.
Within reason, they can pass on what they want. But if it did, the Senate would block it, and if miraculously not blocked, the president would veto it.
The terms are clear, but what’s wrong with House Republicans blocking the tax bill? The economy has not yet recovered from lockdown. Some effort is required, especially if the plan is to solve the debt bomb by growing rather than printing money.
This will not become law. It symbolizes what voters can expect from a unified Congress under Republican control. But moderate groups concerned with high taxes won’t allow the bill to pass unless House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and Ways and Means Committee Chairman Rep. Jason Smith (R, Missouri) stick to the reinstatement clause. right. Federal deductions for state and local taxes.
Capping that deduction in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act made it possible to enact meaningful growth-promoting tax cuts. Without these, the economy could still be in recession without the impact it had before the pandemic hit.
It was a worthwhile deal. Some people, especially big Democrat donors in high-tax states like New York, New Jersey, and California, don’t think so. They want the SALT (state and local tax) deduction back to alleviate the tremendous financial pain of living in an area where state and local taxes have a significant impact on their income.
Elimination of the SALT deduction caused an exodus of the “One Percent Resident”, sending them to states with no income tax, such as Texas, Tennessee, and Florida. Their gain is the loss of the liberal welfare state.
Those who cannot afford to migrate complain, but they are misunderstood, not because their lives are getting worse. As Ryan Ellis of the Center for Free Economy recently pointed out, most upper- and middle-class wage earners in the tax belt also do better without SALT.
Ellis saw Westchester Country, New York, a wealthy enclave just north of New York City, and found the tax cuts and jobs laws “very good” for the people living there.
“Those earning between $50,000 and $75,000 a year received an average income tax cut of $800. Those earning between $75,000 and $100,000 received a $900 tax cut. $100,000. Those in the $200,000 to $200,000 range have their taxes reduced by $800. Only those earning $200,000 or more are paying about the same amount as before,” Ellis wrote.
There are other reasons why the abolition of SALT did not cause the economic damage many claimed. But to cite the Freedom Caucus strategy, blocking action on tax legislation does more harm than good unless it gets what Republicans want (a backdoor tax cut to 1%).
Quite frankly, you’re an idiot. All you want to appeal for deduction revival. Blame the leaders when in your district. We promise to fight for real change in the future. But please stop holding the tax bill hostage in the name of Ronald Reagan. Otherwise people will remember.
A former senior political writer for UPI and columnist for US News and World Report, Peter Roff is a senior fellow at several public policy organizations, including the Trans-Atlantic Leadership Network. Please contact RoffColumns AT gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter and his TruthSocial @TheRoffDraft.
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