Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine says she may change her vote on the GOP tax overhaul if her amendments are not included in the final measure.
She tells WABI-TV she won’t make a final decision until she sees what comes out of a conference committee.
Collins joined the majority in a 51-49 vote, after her amendments on property tax and medical expense deductions were included. She says she also secured a promise from House and Senate leaders to remove the threat of a 4 percent cut to Medicare.
Collins is facing criticism in her home state over the tax plan that would provide steep tax cuts for businesses and more modest tax breaks for families and individuals. On Thursday, police arrested nine protesters at her Portland office.
(AP)
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Especially for a renter without a good job, the increase in the standard deduction is a tremendous windfall. In many way, the changes in the personal income tax is a “Robin Hood” since the standard deduction doubling helps the poor, and cutting the major itemized deductions robs from the rich. The proposal could just as easily have come from Bernie Sanders. It the Democrats were so busying demonizing Trump, they’ld support the tax plan (and remove the need for the Republicans to make concessions to the “moderate”, i.e., “Country Club” , Republicans). Trump’s plan is good for the deplorables, not the rich.
You’re skipping the part about the tax cuts for individuals disappearing by 2027. In the House plan, the family flexibility credit disappears after five years. The only permanent changes are the corporate tax cut and the elimination of taxes that mostly affect only the very wealthy (the AMT and estate tax).
One analysis I saw says that 11% of filers get a tax hike in 2018, while under the Senate bill, 17% of parents with children under 18 get a tax hike. By 2027, it’s worse, with 47% of parents getting a tax hike versus current law, and 38% of all taxpayers getting a hike. Given the elimination of the personal exemption, presumably large families will be hurt more than small families by the Trump tax bill. If those families are in high-tax states like NY and NJ, the elimination of the SALT deduction will (pardon the pun) rub salt into the wound.
There’s also the part about the Republicans flip-flopping on their aversion to large deficits. It seems that only Sen. Corker is concerned about this.