Tag: GOP corporate welfare

GOP tax bill ends electric vehicle tax credit, overhauls other energy taxes

The following article by Devin Henry was posted on the Hill website November 2, 2017:

© Getty Images

A massive GOP tax-reform bill would end a $7,500 credit for the purchase of electric vehicles and overhaul other energy-related provisions within the tax code.

The 429-page bill would repeal the electric vehicle tax credit, which supporters have credited with reducing the price of emission-free cars for consumers and helping the burgeoning American electric vehicle industry grow.

Advocates have ramped up lobbying efforts to save the credit, which has benefited electric vehicle manufactures like Tesla. The credit is limited at the first 200,000 electric vehicles sold by each manufacturer, but no one has yet hit that cap. Continue reading “GOP tax bill ends electric vehicle tax credit, overhauls other energy taxes”

Ethics watchdog: GOP tax bill written to cut Trump’s taxes

The following article by Brett Samuels was posted on the Hill website November 2, 2017:

A government ethics watchdog argued Thursday morning that the newly released Republican tax bill was written to lower President Trump’s taxes.

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a nonprofit that aims to reduce the influence of money in politics and foster government accountability, cited the bill’s intention to repeal the alternative minimum tax.

“In 2005, the one year of Trump’s taxes we’ve seen, the Alternative Minimum Tax cost him an extra $31 million,” the organization, which is linked to Democratic operative David Brock, tweeted. “This bill was written for him.” Continue reading “Ethics watchdog: GOP tax bill written to cut Trump’s taxes”

Winners and losers in the GOP tax plan

The following article by Heather Long was posted on the Washington Post website November 2, 2017:

House Republican leaders on Thursday, Nov. 2 proposed legislation that would overhaul the U.S. tax code. Here’s what you need to know about it. (Monica Akhtar/The Washington Post)

Republicans unveiled their bill to overhaul the U.S. tax codeThursday morning, and there were some major winners and losers.

The top GOP tax writer, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady (R-Tex.), foreshadowed just how hard it would be to craft the biggest rewrite of the tax code since 1986 when he said in August: “Tax reform is hard. It’s the challenge of a generation.”

Here’s a rundown of who is happy and who isn’t as the details emerge regarding the “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act,” the centerpiece of President Trump’s “MAGAnomics” agenda. Continue reading “Winners and losers in the GOP tax plan”

DFL Chairman Ken Martin Statement on GOP Tax Plan

Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) Party Chairman Ken Martin today released the following statement on Congressional Republicans newly released tax plan.

“We need a simpler, fairer tax code for all Minnesotans. The plan Republicans released today is not that. By limiting a major tax deduction that families depend on every year, it could cost thousands of dollars for nearly a million Minnesota taxpayers. It will take away other critical deductions that help Minnesotans afford college, offset the cost of medical expenses, and purchase a new home. Meanwhile, the wealthiest Americans receive massive handouts and the federal budget is decimated.”

“Republican Representatives Tom Emmer, Jason Lewis, and Erik Paulsen have a duty to stand against this disastrous plan that disproportionally hurts their constituents in Minnesota.”

The tax plan released today limits the State and Local Tax (SALT) Deduction, which provides an average $12,000 tax deduction for 900,000 primarily middle-class Minnesota families and results in about $12 billion in tax benefits to Minnesotans every year.

  • 42 percent of taxpayers in Lewis’ district claimed the SALT deduction last year for nearly $1.8 billion in federal tax relief.
  • 40 percent of taxpayers in Paulsen’s district claimed the SALT deduction last year for nearly $1.7 billion in federal tax relief.
  • 40 percent of taxpayers in Emmer’s district claimed the SALT deduction last year for nearly $2.5 billion in federal tax relief.