Tag: GOP tax cut for the wealthy

Partisan Sparks Fly at Ways and Means Tax Markup

The following article by Ryan McCrimmon was posted on the Rollcall website November 6, 2017:

California Democrat Mike Thompson calls a bill provision “cruel” and “heartless”

Ways and Means Chairman Kevin Brady sits in front of tax code volumes during a Monday committee markup of the House Republicans’ tax plan. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)

The fireworks started early at a Ways and Means Committee markup Monday of the House Republican tax plan, as a top Democrat slammed a provision that would end certain tax write-offs for properties damaged by fires.

California Rep. Mike Thompson said the sweeping legislation was “cruel” and “heartless” for repealing such tax benefits for his constituents in Northern California, where devastating wildfires burned through parts of Sonoma, Napa and Yuba counties in early October and elsewhere in the state. He pointed out that victims of recent hurricanes in Texas, Florida and other states would be grandfathered in and be able to deduct some of their uninsured property losses.

“I’ve got 9,000 people who had their homes burned to the ground,” Thompson said. “You’re pulling the rug right out from underneath them.” Continue reading “Partisan Sparks Fly at Ways and Means Tax Markup”

Tax bill raises red flags for Senate GOP

The following article by Alexander Bolton was posted on the Hill website November 5, 2017:

Credit: AP/Evan Vucci

The House GOP tax-reform package has put Senate Republicans in a tough spot, much like the House-passed ObamaCare repeal bill did earlier this year.

The legislation is expected to pass the House, starting a tougher battle in the Senate, where Republicans control 52 seats and can’t pass a bill if they suffer more than two defections and Democrats remain unified.

At least a half-dozen Senate Republicans have already raised concerns about various proposals in the tax measure, setting the stage for arduous negotiations in the upper chamber. Continue reading “Tax bill raises red flags for Senate GOP”

Here’s How the Wealthy Gain From GOP Health Care Bill

The following article by Benjy Sarlin was posted on the NBC News website July 1, 2017:

WASHINGTON — Republicans are once again bogged down in negotiations over health care, with moderates and conservatives pulling the Senate bill in different directions and polls showing the public overwhelmingly unhappy with their plans.

But the key to understanding their struggles might not lie in health policy so much as tax policy.

As frustrated GOP senators are discovering, their bill is much less generous than Obamacare because it spends hundreds of billions of dollars less on people’s health care. And the main reason it spends so much less is that its savings are used to cut taxes for wealthy Americans and for medical companies. Continue reading “Here’s How the Wealthy Gain From GOP Health Care Bill”