December, 16 2019, 11:00pm EDT
Sunday Marks Two-Year Anniversary of Failed GOP Tax Cut Law
New Report Shows 91 Fortune 500 Corporations Paid No Federal Income Taxes in 2018.
WASHINGTON
Sunday, Dec. 22, will mark the two-year anniversary of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, the signature legislative achievement of the Trump Administration. While President Trump and Republicans still proclaim the law a success, data from independent and authoritative sources overwhelmingly shows that the many promises that helped convince lawmakers to speed enactment of the tax overhaul have failed to come true.
A new report by Americans for Tax Fairness, Chartbook: Trump-GOP Tax Cuts Failing Workers and the Economy, details eight key promises made by Trump and the GOP to help get the tax cuts enacted into law. (The law took effect Jan. 1, 2018.) The report uses the latest economic data that shows their rosy scenarios have wilted in the glaring light of actual facts.
And a report from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) shows 91 profitable Fortune 500 corporations--including Amazon, Chevron, Halliburton and IBM--paid no federal income taxes in 2018 the year following the tax law's passage. Moreover, 379 profitable corporations paid an effective federal income tax rate of just 11.3% on their 2018 income, slightly more than half the 21% corporate tax rate--which already had been slashed down from 35% in 2017.
Taken together, the two reports paint a devastating picture of the true impacts of the costly $1.9 trillion Republican tax plan, as estimated by the Congressional Budget Office. The ATF report catalogs the many predictions about who would benefit most from the tax cuts (including a $4,000 family pay-raise guarantee), how much they would cost and how much the economy would grow, and how each of those promises have proven false. The ITEP report shows that while the tax law cut the corporate rate by 40% - from 35% to 21% - financial data from 379 profitable corporations show they paid an effective federal income tax rate of just 11.3%, the lowest in decades.
"In 2017, we were told repeatedly that the giant, unpaid-for tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations would increase jobs, pay for themselves, give every family a big raise and would really hurt rich people like Donald Trump," said Frank Clemente, executive director of Americans for Tax Fairness. "Two years later, the evidence is in, and all their promises look like a Macy's parade balloon the day after Thanksgiving."
The links below go to the Chartbook, which includes the original sources.
1. PROMISE: IT WILL BE A MIDDLE-CLASS TAX CUT.
REALITY: The tax cuts are mostly going to corporations and their wealthy owners.
- The richest 1% of taxpayers will get an average tax cut of $50,000 in 2020. That's 75 times more than the tax cut for the bottom 80%, which will average just $645. [Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP)] These figures are comparable to estimates from the Tax Policy Center for 2018, which found the average tax cut for the richest 1% to be $51,000 and the average tax cut for the bottom 80% to be about $800. [Table 1, "All Provisions"]
- The richest 1% will receive a total of $78 billion in tax cuts in 2020. That's about equal to the total tax cut that will go to the bottom 80%. [ITEP]
- A big reason benefits are tilted to the top is the law slashed the U.S. corporate tax rate on domestic profits from 35% to 21% and on foreign profits to about 10%. Wealthy people own most corporate stock.
2. PROMISE: WEALTHY PEOPLE - LIKE DONALD TRUMP - WON'T BENEFIT FROM THE TAX CUTS.
REALITY: President Trump and his family will benefit personally by millions of dollars from at least five features of the law: lower top income tax rates; the deep corporate tax cuts; a weakened estate tax; a tax break mostly benefitting wealthy business owners like Trump (see below); and real-estate loopholes the law opened. [Americans for Tax Fairness]
3. PROMISE: Working families will quickly get a $4,000 to $9,000 raise.
REALITY:
- Median family income grew by just $514 in 2018 after enactment of the tax law--much slower growth than occurred in each of the last three years under President Obama. [U.S. Census Bureau]
- The increase in the yearly wage growth rate is up just 0.4% over the roughly two years since the Trump-GOP tax law was enacted. The yearly wage growth rate under Obama's last two years accelerated by 0.7%. [Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)]
4. PROMISE: Small businesses will receive a big tax cut.
REALITY: Almost half the benefits of this supposed "small" business tax cut are going to the tiny sliver of businesses with over $1 million in annual income. Less than a quarter is going to firms with an income of $200,000 or less. [Joint Committee on Taxation/Bloomberg News]
5. PROMISE: The economy will grow by 4%, 5%, or 6%.
REALITY: Economic growth (GDP) since the tax law was enacted has been in line with the Obama years. Annual growth hasn't hit 3% under Trump, and growth during the first three quarters of 2019 is averaging 2.4%. [Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA)] The Federal Reserve predicts growth of 2.2% for the full year.
6. PROMISE: Tax cuts will pay for themselves.
REALITY: The total cost of the tax cuts is estimated at $1.9 trillion, according to the Congressional Budget Office, which will be added to the national debt. Conservatives claimed the law's lower tax rates would raise a lot more revenue through greater economic activity. But largely due to the tax cuts (especially for corporations), the deficit has exploded, reaching nearly $1 trillion in 2019, up more than 70% from the $585 billion during Obama's last year in office. [U.S. Office of Management and Budget]
7. PROMISE: The pace of job growth will quicken.
REALITY: Monthly job growth has averaged 202,000 in the two years since the tax cuts were enacted. Job growth in the last two years of the Obama Administration averaged 210,000 a month. [BLS]
8. PROMISE: Business investment will boom.
REALITY:
- After just one-quarter of modest growth in 2018, capital investment has declined overall since then, falling into negative territory in the second and third quarters of 2019. [BEA]
- Corporations have instead used their tax savings for stock buybacks, which primarily benefit executives and other wealthy shareholders. Corporations bought back a record $800 billion-plus of their own shares in 2018, an increase of more than 50% over the $519 billion in stock buybacks in 2017. [S&P Dow Jones Indices]
For these and other reasons, more voters continue to oppose the Trump-GOP tax cuts than support them. ATF maintains a comprehensive set of public opinion polls about the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which also includes data on support for progressive tax reform proposals. Other key findings include:
- Only 17% said their taxes decreased in 2018 compared to 2017, 33% said their taxes increased while 31% said their taxes stayed the same.
- Most voters want to repeal the 2017 tax cuts for corporations and the wealthy. 52% were more likely and 26% were less likely to support a candidate for Congress who supported repealing the 2017 tax cuts for corporations and the wealthy passed by Republicans and signed by President Trump.
ATF also maintains a major compilation of media reports and studies that have analyzed the effects of the Trump-GOP tax cuts since enactment.
In addition, Americans for Tax Fairness previously released a report, Fair Taxes Now: Revenue Options for A Fair Tax System, a comprehensive menu of 40 progressive tax reform options that includes recommendations for amending or repealing the Trump-GOP tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations (p. 5). The recommendations could raise $1.7-$2.7 trillion, demand the most from those with the most to give, and steer a better economic course for our country than the failed policy of cutting taxes for the wealthy and corporations.
Americans for Tax Fairness (ATF) is a diverse campaign of more than 420 national, state and local endorsing organizations united in support of a fair tax system that works for all Americans. It has come together based on the belief that the country needs comprehensive, progressive tax reform that results in greater revenue to meet our growing needs. This requires big corporations and the wealthy to pay their fair share in taxes, not to live by their own set of rules.
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Hawaii ACLU Demands End to US Complicity in 'Israeli Government's Genocide in Gaza'
"Residents of Hawaii are witness to the historical consequences of land dispossession, colonization, and cultural erasure, and have not turned a blind eye to the ongoing genocide of the Palestinian people on their land."
Sep 26, 2024
The ACLU of Hawaii's board of directors on Wednesday announced the passage of what's believed to be a first-of-its-kind resolution for the civil liberties group decrying U.S. complicity in "the Israeli government's genocide in Gaza, as well as Israel's crimes of apartheid and occupation in the West Bank" and demanding an immediate cease-fire.
"Residents of Hawaii are witness to the historical consequences of land dispossession, colonization, and cultural erasure, and have not turned a blind eye to the ongoing genocide of the Palestinian people on their land," the ACLU of Hawaii said in a statement. "Activists in Hawaii have been steadfast in their advocacy against the United States' complicity in Israeli actions, and for this reason and many more, the Hawaii State Legislature was the first in the United States to call for a permanent and immediate cease-fire."
The ACLU of Hawaii board's resolution, which was passed earlier this month, compares the assault on Gaza—for which Israel is on trial for genocide at the International Court of Justice—and the illegal occupation of Palestine with past human rights crimes like South African apartheid and the Vietnam War.
The document also notes that "college students and professors on campus are being silenced and police have committed violence against such peaceful protesters," and that "federal legislation... provides the Israeli government with military aid while it is committing egregious human rights violations against Palestinian civilians, as well as American citizens residing in Palestine."
"Therefore, this action is in line with ACLU of Hawaii's mandate to protect civil liberties and civil rights," the publication adds. "Israel's war in Gaza cannot be divorced from civil rights in America."
The resolution states:
- We condemn the U.S. government's complicity in Israeli action.
- We resolve that critiquing the war on Gaza should not be an exception to constitutional protections.
- We oppose federal legislation that provides the Israeli government with military aid while it continues hostilities against the Palestinians.
- We support calling for a permanent cease-fire and the release of all hostages.
The vote on the resolution was unanimous.
"Why? Because we're the ACLU," board member Kenneth Lawson said in a video about the resolution. "We have to stand for something. And what is that? Justice. And we are opposed to violations of human rights."
Board member Monihsa Das Gupta said that "here in Hawaii, there is a long history of fighting occupation and militarization, so we have very strong allies and allyship with Kānaka Maoli," a reference to Indigenous Hawaiians.
Das Gupta highlighted the pilina, or connection, "between Palestinians who are struggling for their self-determination and the Kānaka Maoli and their allies here... raising our voices for deoccupation."
Lawson said: "What we're asking for is a cease-fire. This isn't about one side versus the other, this is about justice for human beings. Period."
"So, free the hostages, an immediate cease-fire right now to stop any military aid from the United States from going to Israel so we're not co-conspirators in this atrocity, so we're not co-conspirators in this genocide, and to stop any legislation that continues to support us being involved in the devastation of one group of people over another," he added.
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Exclusive: Khanna Proposes End to 'Unconscionable' Taxpayer Subsidies for Big Oil
"The fossil fuel industry receives over $20.5 billion in taxpayer dollars every year while fleecing American consumers and driving a global climate crisis," said the California Democrat.
Sep 26, 2024
As fossil fuel giants continue to rake in billions of dollars in profits, U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna on Thursday is reintroducing legislation to end giving billions in taxpayer dollars to companies that inject captured carbon dioxide into wells to extract more climate-wrecking oil.
"The fossil fuel industry receives over $20.5 billion in taxpayer dollars every year while fleecing American consumers and driving a global climate crisis," Khanna (D-Calif.) told Common Dreams. "The End Polluter Welfare for Enhanced Oil Recovery Act will eliminate the subsidy for captured carbon used for enhanced oil recovery, which only leads to more fossil fuel extraction and does nothing to mitigate climate change."
While advocates of carbon capture utilization and storage claim that it's necessary to address the fossil fuel-driven climate emergency, most CO2 captured in the United States is used to extract more planet-heating oil and gas, leading many scientists and green groups to argue that it is a "false climate solution."
"Oil drilling is the real story behind the fossil fuel industry's carbon capture obsession," said Jim Walsh, policy director at Food & Water Watch, which has endorsed Khanna's bill. "These corporate polluters are raiding public coffers from what could easily be hundreds of billions of dollars while greenwashing the further degradation of our climate."
Walsh also highlighted the impact on people who live near fossil fuel infrastructure, telling Common Dreams that "communities across the country are facing the potential for thousands of harmful industrial projects and tens of thousands of miles of dangerous pipelines that will do little more than put money in the pocket of the fossil fuel industry."
Despite such warnings, Congress has actually boosted Section 45Q tax giveaways for companies using captured CO2 for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) since Khanna first introduced the legislation in December 2021. The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 was heralded as a "landmark" climate package for its investments in cleaner energy, but a little-noticed provision in the law increased the relevant credit for CO2 injection from $35 to $60 per metric ton.
"Taxpayers shouldn't be left footing the bill to help Big Oil boost its profits at the expense of our health and economy."
This year, 15 other House members are backing Khanna's bill, as are over a dozen organizations. Among them is Evergreen Action, which has spent years calling for reforms, including a June memo denouncing 45Q subsidies that encourage more fossil fuel production.
"It's unconscionable that American taxpayers are still subsidizing oil and gas companies to extract even more fossil fuels through so-called 'enhanced oil recovery,'" said Evergreen Action senior energy transition policy lead Mattea Mrkusic. "By eliminating these wasteful tax giveaways, Rep. Ro Khanna's bill takes a crucial step toward ending one of many federal fossil fuel handouts that drive climate pollution."
"Climate change is no longer a distant threat—it's happening right now, fueling more frequent and severe weather events, disproportionately impacting marginalized communities, and costing the American people billions every year," Mrkusic told Common Dreams. "Taxpayers shouldn't be left footing the bill to help Big Oil boost its profits at the expense of our health and economy. It's a perfect time to fully invest in our clean energy future instead."
Khanna's reintroduction of the End Polluter Welfare for EOR Act follows the hottest year in human history—a record that 2024 is expected to beat, with historic summer heat that led global scientists to demand urgent action to shift away from fossil fuels.
It also comes less than six weeks away from the U.S. general election, in which Americans are set to determine the makeup of Congress and the next occupant of the Oval Office. While Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris has the support of nearly every major climate group, former Republican President Donald Trump, who has pledged to swiftly gut federal climate policies if Big Oil puts $1 billion toward his campaign, has been dubbed an existential threat to progress on the climate crisis.
Regardless of who wins in November, there's also a looming Capitol Hill battle over taxation, given that policies Trump signed into law in 2017 are set to expire at the end of next year. As Common Dreamsreported in June, the climate movement sees that debate as an opportunity to end tax giveaways for the fossil fuel industry.
"Fossil fuel companies have raked in astronomical profits at the expense of communities while Big Oil and Gas lobbyists actively work to keep us hooked on their polluting products that perpetuate the climate crisis," said Mahyar Sorour, Sierra Club's director of beyond fossil fuels policy. "It is absurd that taxpayers should then also provide a blank check through subsidies, corporate giveaways, and sweetheart deals."
Sierra Club is supporting Khanna's bill, as are 350.org, Alliance for Affordable Energy, Center for Biological Diversity, Center for International Environmental Law, Climate Justice Alliance, Environment America, Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace USA, Oil Change International, Our Revolution, Oxfam America, Progressive Democrats of America, U.S. PIRG, and Zero Hour.
"We must end the billions of dollars in wasteful taxpayer subsidies to the fossil fuel industry," Sorour stressed. "Congress continues to say they are concerned about the country's deficit. Ending handouts to billion-dollar corporations that price gouge consumers and pollute our environment is a great way to reduce spending."
"We are grateful to Rep. Khanna for leading this legislation and look forward to supporting this and other types of similar legislation that hold Big Oil and Gas companies accountable," Sorour told Common Dreams.
Earlier this year, U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) reintroduced the broader End Polluter Welfare Act, of which Khanna is a co-lead. Its sponsors say that by closing tax loopholes and ending corporate handouts to the fossil fuel industry, that bill "would save American taxpayers up to $170 billion over the next 10 years."
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'New Yorkers Deserve Better': Mayor Adams Urged to Resign as Feds Unseal Indictment
"Mayor Eric Adams can no longer govern. He has lost the trust of the everyday New Yorkers he was elected to serve," said the New York Working Families Party.
Sep 26, 2024
Update:
Federal prosecutors on Thursday unsealed a 57-page indictment charging New York City Mayor Eric Adams with wire fraud, bribery, and soliciting illegal foreign campaign donations.
The indictment states that Adams "sought and accepted improper valuable benefits, such as luxury international travel, including from wealthy foreign businesspeople and at least one Turkish government official seeking to gain influence over him."
"As Adams' prominence and power grew, his foreign-national benefactors sought to cash in on their corrupt relationships with him, particularly when, in 2021, it became clear that Adams would become New York City's mayor," the document continues. "Adams agreed, providing favorable treatment in exchange for the illicit benefits he received."
Speaking at a press conference after the indictment was unsealed, Adams called it an "unfortunate" and "painful" day for him but rejected calls to resign and said, "I look forward to defending myself."
"From here my attorneys will take care of the case, so I can take care of the city," Adams said. "My day-to-day will not change. I will continue to do the job for 8.3 million New Yorkers that I was elected to do."
Earlier:
Democratic New York City Mayor Eric Adams faced mounting calls to resign as federal agents raided his official residence in Manhattan early Thursday morning following news that he was indicted in a corruption probe.
Adams, who was
under federal investigation for allegedly conspiring with the Turkish government in 2021 to receive unlawful campaign donations, said he would fight the indictment, which remained sealed Thursday morning. Adams is now the first sitting New York City mayor to be charged with a federal crime.
News of the federal grand jury indictment sparked a new flurry of calls for Adams' resignation from New York lawmakers and advocacy groups.
"Mayor Eric Adams can no longer govern," the New York Working Families Party said in a statement. "He has lost the trust of the everyday New Yorkers he was elected to serve. Our city deserves a leader we can trust and who is not engulfed in endless scandals."
In an appearance on Democracy Now! Thursday morning, New York City Councilmember Tiffany Cabán said that "New Yorkers deserve better."
"We need somebody who can take this job seriously," Cabán added, "and [Adams] can no longer do that."
Should Adams ultimately resign or be forced out of office, the city's public advocate, Jumaane Williams, would become mayor.
Tiffany Cabán was the first New York City councilmember to call on Mayor Eric Adams to resign as he faces several federal investigations.
"New Yorkers deserve better,” says @tiffany_caban. “We need somebody who can take this job seriously … and he can no longer do that." pic.twitter.com/da9ctlaoxX
— Democracy Now! (@democracynow) September 26, 2024
Chi Ossé, also a member of the New York City Council, called Adams—a former police officer—a "corrupt cop" who "needs to resign."
"This started as a corruption probe into his campaign and now half of the leadership is out of commission," Ossé added. "I'm not going to lie, they look guilty."
News of the Adams indictment came three weeks after the FBI raided the homes and seized the phones of top Adams aides.
The New York Timesreported Thursday that "federal prosecutors investigating whether Mayor Eric Adams conspired with the Turkish government to funnel illegal foreign donations into his campaign have recently sought information about interactions with five other countries."
"The demand for information related to the other countries—Israel, China, Qatar, South Korea, and Uzbekistan—was made in expansive grand jury subpoenas issued in July to City Hall, the mayor, and his campaign," the Times noted, citing unnamed people with knowledge of the matter.
Adams attorney Alex Spiro on Thursday accused federal agents of staging a "spectacle" by raiding the mayor's residence.
"He has not been arrested and looks forward to his day in court," said Spiro. "They send a dozen agents to pick up a phone when we would have happily turned it in."
Shortly before news of the indictment broke, U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) wrote that she doesn't "see how Mayor Adams can continue governing New York City."
"The flood of resignations and vacancies are threatening gov[ernment] function," she added. "Nonstop investigations will make it impossible to recruit and retain a qualified administration. For the good of the city, he should resign."
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