Dueling tax plans

The Republicans have come up with yet another way to screw the middle class:

Senators eye automatic tax hikes if revenue falls short

http://www.mercurynews.com/2017/11/2...revenue-falls/

Today, the Senate Budget Panel's vote on the GOP tax plan was interrupted by protesters who chanted "Shame! Shame! Shame!" and "Kill the bill!" and spoke of how the bill would harm the poor and the sick and the middle class. Thirty-six protesters were arrested. All 12 Republicans voted "yes" because they care only about the wealthiest Americans. All 11 Democrats voted "no." The bill now heads to the full Senate.

Trump brags about the "progress" being made on the tax bill but of course he won't say anything about the protests. Trump, like all the other Republicans, does not care about the middle class. MSNBC has been showing today's protest in its entirety. It is also online:

http://www.dailycaller.com/2017/11/2...ax-bill-video/

I saw that protest on the news. Except for one man telling security officers to remove the protesters, all the senators just pretended to ignore them. I'm sorry the protesters got arrested. It doesn't say much about freedom of speech and the right to protest.

NPR fact-checked all the claims made by Trump today during a speech in St. Charles. Among them: "The GOP tax plan is primarily aimed at workers on the lower rungs of the income ladder" and "The GOP tax plan is hard on rich people, like President Trump." Of course we all know "Trump" and "facts" never go together. Here is an excerpt from the NPR story:

"By 2027, 90 percent of the total tax savings go to people making more than $154,900 (the top 20 percent of earners) and nearly 62 percent go to the top 1 percent — people making more than $912,100."

Remember, Republicans do not care about the middle class. They care only about the big corporations, the banking industry and the wealthiest Americans (which includes themselves).

FACT CHECK: President Trump's tax speech in Missouri

https://www.npr.org/2017/11/29/56735...ch-in-missouri

Trump wrongly says he won’t benefit from GOP tax plan
NBC News, Nov 29 2017 5:55 PM ET

President Donald Trump made another sales pitch for his tax plan in Missouri on Wednesday, repeating his erroneous claim that the Republican bill, if passed, would cost him and other rich Americans a fortune. "This is going to cost me a fortune, believe me," Trump told an enthusiastic crowd in St. Charles, just outside St. Louis. "This is not good for me." He added that his "very wealthy friends" were "not so happy with me” when it came to the bill, but he pressed Senate Republicans to pass it this week anyway.

In fact, Trump and his family could save more than $1 billion under the House tax plan that passed two weeks ago, according to an NBC News analysis. And under the Senate plan, the wealthiest Americans, like Trump, would get nearly 62 percent of all of its benefits by 2027, while two-thirds of middle-class Americans would face a tax increase, according to the Tax Policy Center, a nonpartisan think tank in Washington.

Meanwhile, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, the poorest Americans would be worse off under the Senate tax plan, because they would no longer receive tax credits under the Affordable Care Act's individual mandate, which the bill would eliminate.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/don...x-plan-n825066

What I understand is that the tax cuts for the middle class are temporary and the tax cuts for the big corporations are permanent. Why can't they just cut taxes for the middle class and leave the other taxes right where they are? That would help the greatest number of people.

I think a big part of the reason Republicans want to cut taxes for the big corporations is because they're expecting when they run for re-election, the CEOs will donate huge amounts of money to their campaigns. Middle-class voters, if they donate to a campaign at all, may give only 10 or 20 dollars. Big corporations will give many thousands of dollars.

Not one Democrat voted for this tax plan but the Republicans had just enough votes to ensure that the wealthiest Americans and the big corporations will get huge tax cuts. Nancy Pelosi said the plan is "a betrayal of the American middle class." Indeed it is.

Senate passes tax reform bill. Here's how it affects you.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017...m-package.html

Oscar-winning actress Patricia Arquette tweeted this observation about the GOP tax plan: "A billionaire's child can inherit everything without paying taxes but a nurses's child inheriting a $40,000 retirement plan will be taxed. OK!"

Arquette shouldn't be surprised. Trump and the Republicans do not care about the middle class. They care about millionaires, billionaires, banks, oil companies, insurance companies, big corporations.......and themselves.

Further proof -- as if we needed any -- that Republicans care only about the wealthy and not the middle class:

Senator Marco Rubio tells a secret: After giving a tax cut to the rich, GOP will cut Social Security and Medicare

http://www.latimes.com/business/hilt...130-story.html

Further proof -- as if we needed any -- that Republicans care only about the wealthy and not the middle class:

Orrin Hatch sparks backlash after claiming there's 'no money' for children’s health plan
Mic.com, Dec 3 2017 5:13 PM

Less than two days after the Senate passed widely criticized tax reform legislation, one of the tax bill’s key proponents came under fire for claiming there’s "no money" for a children’s health care plan he helped create.

On the Senate floor Thursday, Utah Senator Orrin Hatch responded to a question from Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown about the future of the Children’s Health Insurance Program, a low-cost health insurance plan for children from low-income families that Congress has yet to review since it expired October 1. The question came during a debate on the Republican tax bill, which Hatch presided over as chairman of the Senate Finance Committee. In response, Hatch claimed the health insurance program had not yet been renewed due to a lack of funds. "The reason CHIP’s having trouble is because we don’t have money anymore," Hatch said.

Though Hatch described CHIP as having done a "terrific job," he then used the entitlement program as an opportunity to criticize programs that "help people who won’t help themselves" — seemingly appearing to equate such people with the 9 million children that rely on CHIP. "I have a rough time wanting to spend billions and trillions of dollars to help people who won’t help themselves, won’t lift a finger and expect the federal government to do everything," Hatch said.

Hatch’s comments, which were highlighted on MSNBC’s website and tweeted Sunday by Morning Joe host Joe Scarborough, drew widespread criticism over the weekend as passage of the Senate tax bill continued to spark outrage.

https://www.aol.com/article/news/201...plan/23295751/

Further proof -- as if we needed any -- that Republicans care only about the wealthy and not the middle class:

Senator Chuck Grassley says the tax plan should reward millionaire investors, not people who blow money on 'booze or women or movies

www.time.com/5047914/chuck-grassley-estate-tax/

From Business Insider:

The fight over the Republican tax plan isn't over -- here are the biggest differences between the House and Senate bills

http://www.businessinsider.com/trump...rences-2017-12

The delusional buffoon is at it again:

Trump says GOP tax plan is becoming 'more popular.' It is still deeply unpopular, polls say.

https://www.cnbc.com/2017/12/05/dona...e-popular.html

Trump’s tweet on 'special' tax cut bill backfires
Geobeats, Dec 10 2017 10:40 AM

President Trump’s Saturday tweet on the GOP tax bill sparked many negative reactions on social media. Trump wrote, "Getting closer and closer on the Tax Cut Bill. Shaping up even better than projected. House and Senate working very hard and smart. End result will be not only important, but SPECIAL!"

Twitter users seemed largely skeptical about the bill’s benefits. Among the tweets: "You call it a tax cut but ultimately it only cuts taxes for the wealthy in the long run." "I’m sure all the rich people are really happy!" "Better for the top 1% or for the real people???" "The tax bill that the vast majority of Americans do not support. The one that says it benefits the middle class when in fact it benefits the wealthy."

The Washington Post published a piece on Saturday, delving into the tax bill’s divergence from Trump’s campaign promise: "As top lawmakers from the House and the Senate now rush to complete negotiations to push the tax plan into law, it amounts to a massive corporate tax cut, with uneven – and temporary – benefits for the middle class that could end up increasing taxes for many working families in future years."

https://www.aol.com/article/news/201...ires/23302779/

The President is hopeful that the tax bill will be passed and be on his desk before Christmas. The IRS has announced that if the bill is signed this month, American workers will start seeing lower federal taxes on their paychecks beginning in February 2018.

Republicans have a final deal on their tax bill
Business Insider, Dec 13 2017

House and Senate Republicans have come to a preliminary final agreement on their compromise tax bill. The bill proposes cutting the corporate tax rate to 21% — higher than the 20% in the House and Senate versions but still much lower than the current 35%. The bill would also lower the top individual tax rate to 37% from the current 39.6%, a more generous cut than the Senate version had proposed.

http://www.businessinsider.com/trump...ackets-2017-12

I was listening to Dennis Prager on the radio and he said the middle-class tax cuts are supposed to expire after ten years but Congress will not let that happen. He said all the congressmen will vote to extend the tax cuts because they are afraid they will get voted out of office if they don't.

Uh-oh.

Marco Rubio threatens to vote against the GOP tax bill unless leaders meet demands
Business Insider, Dec 14 2017 3:13 PM

Senator Marco Rubio told GOP leaders he will not vote for their tax bill unless changes are made to the child tax credit. Rubio wants the credit to be more generous and decried the drop in the top individual tax rate in the compromise bill. Republicans can lose only two votes in the Senate, and with Bob Corker likely against the bill, Rubio's defection would leave them with no margin for error.

http://www.businessinsider.com/marco...credit-2017-12

The above "Uh-oh" has been resolved.

Republicans finish revised tax bill as Rubio announces support

http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-n...215-story.html

President Trump said the tax cut is going to be a Christmas present for the middle class. He never admits that the biggest tax cuts are going to the wealthiest people but I know the top tax rates are going way down and the lowest tax rate is not changing.