Do you remember these words: “revenue neutral”? The Republicans promised that any tax cut would be offset by spending cuts or revenue offsets so as not to add to the nation’s debt. Now we know, just like under Bush-Cheney, deficits and debt don’t matter.
Just watch the spectacle as the Trumpsters ram through their massive tax cuts for the top 1 percent while us poor middle class fools lose our personal exemptions and our state and local tax deductions. (No surprise there, the state of Utah also taxes the money we pay the feds.) Watch the home mortgage deduction go away too, as the nation’s debt soars to $30 trillion.
The tax writers promise to close loopholes, but has there been any talk of canceling carried interest, taxing stock transactions, limiting largess to CEOs or boards of directors? The only talk we hear is a 20 percent corporate tax rate will bring massive amounts of money back from overseas. Does anyone believe that money is going to deficit reduction or better wages for workers? We’ve seen this act before: the rich get richer, the 1 percenters’ wealth remains shielded and overseas money is spent on stock buy-backs and a few pennies added to dividend checks.
None of it spells tax relief for the middle class.
Jon Ringwood, Bountiful