The GOP tax bill, called the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, has the potential to crush the working and middle classes. By now, most of us know that the bill would eliminate current tax deductions for student loan interest, tuition waivers for graduate students, adoption costs, moving costs, medical expenses and supplies for work (like those a teacher might buy for his or her class).
At the same time, the bill would eliminate (over six years) the estate tax, which already only applies to people inheriting more than $5 million. It would lower corporate taxes, allow those who own private jets to deduct associated costs, and all while increasing the deficit by $1.5 trillion.
The consequences of this bill are not solely financial. The extra tax burden would decrease the number of graduate students at Utah’s great universities and the rest of the country, leading to fewer scientists, inventors, teachers and policy makers. Fewer people would be able to afford to adopt, potentially straining an already struggling foster system. People whose medical care is threatened by the Senate’s attempt to repeal the ACA would find it even harder to pay for care when they couldn’t deduct the cost from their taxes. Wealth would continue to accumulate in the hands of a few very rich people while things become more and more difficult for the rest of us.
During this time while the House and Senate bills are being reconciled, please contact your representatives and senators to tell them how disastrous this bill would be for us.
Brien K. Ashdown, PhD, North Ogden