Analysis

New Center for American Progress Brief Advocates a Red Line Against Any Tax Reform Legislation That Cuts Taxes for Wealthiest Americans or Big Corporations


The Capitol is seen at sunrise in Washington, Wednesday, April 5, 2017. AP/J. Scott Applewhite

Washington, D.C. —(ENEWSPF)–April 10, 2017.   The wealthiest Americans and big corporations do not need any more tax cuts, and lawmakers should reject any legislation that cuts taxes for the wealthy and corporate America by even $1, a new issue brief from the Center for American Progress says. Trickle-down tax cuts have repeatedly failed to produce broad-based economic growth, CAP’s brief notes, and a significant majority of Americans not only oppose such tax cuts but would support higher taxes on the wealthy and big corporations. Rather than cut taxes for those who need it least, Congress should engage in bipartisan negotiations to make the tax code work better for ordinary Americans.

“We do not need another round of tax cuts for those at the top,” said Harry Stein, Director of Fiscal Policy at CAP and author of the brief. “Tax reform might be complicated, but those complexities should not be used to disguise tax cuts for the wealthy or big corporations.”

In the past, Congress has traded tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations in exchange for continuing important tax benefits for working families, but CAP’s brief argues that tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations do not belong in measures to improve the tax code for working families, because these tax cuts will undermine vital programs for working families. Furthermore, polls have consistently found that Americans oppose tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations: according to a 2015 Gallup poll, only 11 percent of Americans said that upper-income households pay “too much” tax, and only 9 percent said corporations pay “too much.” The notion that some wealthy people and corporations are not paying their fair share of taxes is a concern shared by Democratic, Republican, and Independent voters alike.

CAP’s issue brief concludes that lawmakers should make clear that tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations are a nonstarter, and instead work towards a compromise that will be necessary to make the tax code work better for average Americans.

Click here to read “Stop Cutting Taxes for Corporations and the Wealthy” by Harry Stein.

Source: http://americanprogress.org


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