Republican Plan for Tax Reform 2.0 Would Help Millionaires and Billionaires, Hurt the Middle Class

This afternoon, in response to House Republicans rolling out a series of bills that make up their "Tax Reform 2.0" package, the Patriotic Millionaires issued the following statements in response to specific provisions within those bills:

On making cuts to individual tax rates permanent: "Extending the cuts to individual tax rates isn't a win for middle-class Americans. Congressional Republicans are dropping a few crumbs in front of the American public to distract from the fact that they're robbing them blind. Just wait, Republicans are going to use these cuts later as an excuse to cut Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, and other programs millions of Americans rely on."

On making cuts for pass-through owners permanent: "The pass-through deduction is simply indefensible. If Republicans actually wanted to help small businesses there were 100 other ways they could have done it, but they chose the one way that happens to give a massive tax break to any millionaire or billionaire rich enough to hire an accountant to funnel their income through a shell company. Just 10% of people who claim pass-through income are actually small business employers, and half of them don't conduct any business activity at all. Making this deduction permanent isn't about helping small businesses, it's about rewarding GOP donors and enriching the dozens of Republicans in Congress and the White House who personally benefit from the pass-through deduction."

On making caps to the State and Local Tax (SALT) Deduction permanent: "Capping the SALT deduction is a petty partisan attack on blue states that's more about flexing Republican power than it is about actual tax policy. Republican Members of Congress from California, New Jersey, and New York should think twice before voting to raise taxes on their constituents just to make a point."

On Universal Savings Accounts: "Universal savings accounts aren't designed to help normal Americans save, they're built to give rich Americans another tax shelter. The rich are going to love the tax benefits of their universal savings accounts, but most Americans don't make enough to take full advantage of these accounts, if they are able to use them at all. Even for people that do use them, USAs don't help people save. Because the money in them is so much more accessible than funds in a 401k or Roth IRA, people are most likely to spend their money instead of saving it for retirement. Pushing these kinds of savings accounts isn't just bad policy, it's reckless and stupid."

For further comments or questions, please contact Sam Quigley at sam@patrioticmillionaires.org.