The tax break proposed by the Republicans is nothing more than a gut punch to many of us living in cities or states with high tax burdens.
First of all, why are they fiddling with all the deductions? Leave the deductions alone. To truly change the Federal tax code I propose a tax break that is so simple any legislator can understand it and pass it tomorrow. You can check my percentages at this site:
https://www.skillsyouneed.com/num/percent-change.html
- Make those folks paying 39 percent, now pay 35 percent. This represents a tax reduction of 10 percent. (Divide 39 into 35, a reduction of 4, and the savings comes to 10 percent.)
- Make those paying 35 percent now pay 30 percent. This represents a tax reduction of 14 percent.
- Make those paying 30 percent now pay 25 percent. This represents a reduction of 17 percent.
- Make those paying 25 percent now pay 20 percent. This represents a reduction of 20 percent.
- Make those paying 20 percent now pay 15 percent. This represents a reduction of 25 percent.
- Make those paying 15 percent now pay 10 percent. This represents a reduction of 33 percent.
Why are the Republicans doing it the way they are doing it? They actually don’t want true tax cuts. The Democrats don’t want any tax cuts at all. Both parties pretend they want tax cuts but pretense is the currency of politics.
If you look at the percent reductions I recommend, you will see that the rich have their taxes reduced much, much less than the working poor. Don’t the Democrats want this kind of progressive taxing? Democrats should rejoice at this. However, I have yet to see Democrats rejoice at any tax cuts.
The Republicans shrewdly phrase the reduction in corporate taxes as going from 35 percent to 20 percent. Perhaps that is a simple and clear tax cut for corporations, but the tax-paying citizenry is still enveloped in the smoke and mirrors with tomes of tax codes, loss of deductions, and for some, a higher tax bill made to look like a cut.
Newscasters have been sucked into the politicians’ game-play that this tax process has to be complex and mysterious. Were they to adopt my way of looking at the issue, it would mean very little arguing in interviews and panel discussions—and as we know, argument stimulates ratings.
The Republicans are playing games. The Democrats are playing games.
Benjamin Franklin said, “In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” With all due respect to Dr. Franklin, I say: In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death, taxes and politics.
Frank’s latest books are I Am a Dice Controller: Inside the World of Advantage-Play Craps, Confessions of a Wayward Catholic and I Am a Card Counter: Inside the World of Advantage-Play Blackjack. Available from Amazon.com, Kindle, Barnes and Noble, and at bookstores.