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Trump Tax Scam 2.0: Locking in Inequality

Sept. 13, 2018

Trump Tax Scam 2.0: Locking in Inequality

Statement of Susan Harley, Deputy Director, Public Citizen’s Congress Watch Division

Note: Today, the U.S. House of Representatives’ Ways & Means Committee passed a “Tax Reform 2.0” package that, among other things, would make permanent the provisions of 2017’s already-passed Tax Cuts and Jobs Act related to taxation of individuals. Public Citizen opposes H.R. 6760, the bill that locks in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act’s lowered top rate and doubled exemptions for the estate tax, as well as making permanent the complicated “pass-through” deduction for companies like LLCs and partnerships. H.R. 6760 was passed by the committee on party lines.

As is typically the case with Hollywood blockbusters, this sequel to the tax giveaways is irredeemably terrible. The first version of the GOP tax giveaways was a decided flop – corporate shareholders and the megawealthy received a windfall while working families got fleeced. The public rightfully saw through the sham, and last year’s tax changes remain unpopular with voters across the country. Spoiler alert: Tax cuts 2.0 will rightfully deepen this criticism as the gulf between the rich and the poor continues to widen.

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