AMAC Exclusive – By Neil Banerji
One of the most important storylines heading into next year’s general election cycle is the fate of former President Donald Trump’s historic tax cuts that set the stage for economic boom times prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Among the most notable achievements of President Trump’s first year in office was the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), the largest overhaul of the federal tax code in a generation. But because Republicans passed the bill without any Democrat support via reconciliation, the cuts were necessarily temporary, and are due to expire in 2025 – unless a conservative Congress and White House are installed to renew (and maybe even expand) them.
Overall, the TCJA represented $5.5 trillion in gross tax cuts, more than half of which went to families. By 2019, the TCJA had resulted in more than 200 major companies like Walmart announcing wage increases for employees. Six million workers reported receiving pay raises, bonuses, or increased retirement contributions.
In addition, the TCJA advanced other conservative priorities. For instance, parents are now allowed to use 529 savings accounts to pay for elementary and secondary school for their children, helping expand school choice.
Trump’s tax cuts were so successful, in fact, that the Biden administration quietly announced their intention to keep parts of them in place earlier this year.
Still, however, Biden’s plan to hike business tax rates and expand other taxes, driving down wages and killing jobs in the process, now threatens to undercut the positive effect of Trump’s tax cuts for families – and could prove disastrous for an economy already reeling from months of record-high inflation.
Since its passage in 2017, congressional Democrats have been itching for a chance to repeal the TCJA. Democrats have specifically railed against the bill’s lowering of the business tax rate from 35 percent – then among the highest in the developed world – to 21 percent, more in line with most developed nations.
Some congressional Republicans, meanwhile, are pushing to make cementing the TCJA a central component of the GOP platform in 2024 – drawing a clear contrast with Democrats.
In February, Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-FL) introduced the “TCJA Permanency Act,” which quite simply “makes permanent provisions affecting individual and business taxpayers that were enacted in 2017 by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and are scheduled to expire at the end of 2025” and “makes permanent reductions in individual and capital gain tax rates.” The bill currently has 97 cosponsors and looks set to be a frequent topic of conversation on the campaign trail.
In addition to making the provisions of the TCJA permanent, congressional Republicans are looking to expand tax breaks for individuals and families even further. One measure, the Tax Cuts for Working Families Act, aims to shore up the gains by working class families under TCJA by increasing the standard deduction for both singles and married couples.
Another bill, the Small Business Jobs Act, aims to assist small businesses by increasing their expensing limits for new equipment, the amount of contractor pay which requires a tax form, and restoring the Internal Revenue Service reporting threshold for Venmo and PayPal transactions to $20,000. (Democrats lowered that amount to $600 for 2023.)
Republicans in Congress have also pointed out how disastrous Biden’s other fiscal policies are for the economy. According to a report from the Tax Foundation released in March, Biden’s FY 2024 budget would result in lower wages for workers, reduce U.S. economic growth by 1.3 percent, and destroy 335,000 jobs.
The GOP is aided in these arguments by how poorly Biden has fared on inflation – still one of his greatest political vulnerabilities. Just 34 percent of Americans say they approve of the president’s handling of the economy, and “economy/inflation” remains atop the list of things Americans are most concerned about.
Although the overall inflation rate has now come down somewhat, Americans will not soon forget the months of near double-digit inflation eating into their paychecks and savings. They are also unlikely to look kindly upon tax hikes that will take more money out of their pockets, whether directly or indirectly through decreased wages and economic growth.
The precarious economic state in which the country now finds itself means Trump’s tax cuts are more important than ever. That’s a message which could resonate with voters, if the GOP is wise enough to take advantage of it heading into next year.
Neil Banerji is a proud Las Vegas resident and former student at the University of Oxford. In his spare time, he enjoys reading Winston Churchill and Edmund Burke.
The looming date for the expiration of the Trump tax cuts has been known since the bill was first passed. The last thing the average American needs is a tax hike on top of the rest of the bad policies inflicted on the American people over the last 2 1/2 years.
Wouldn’t it be nice if the vast majority of GOP members of Congress, not just a handful of House Freedom Caucus members, actually hammered that point home concerning the expiration of the Trump tax cuts on a regular basis to the masses that generally don’t pay close attention to this sort of thing? You know, emphasize all the various things that will happen on top of the mountain of other bad things that Team Biden and the Democrats have already dumped on the country over the last 2 1/2 years? Make the importance of the 2024 elections truly clear to many who think it is just another election and are still asleep at the switch. Instead most GOP members of Congress remain eerily silent on almost everything. All while the Democrats continue to pitch new ways to spend more taxpayer dollars to further trash the economy or just overtly buy votes ahead of the upcoming 2024 elections. Some proactive actions on the part of the establishment GOP would certainly be a welcome and refreshing change from their normal wait until the last possible second and then make a half-hearted, feeble attempt to do the right thing.
America——-time to vote this “freak show Biden Administration” out of office, and restore America to greatness—————MAGA 2024
Want a serious recession? Historic inflation, and higher interest rates are already in place to help, more disastrous regulations just keep coming, now add higher tax rates, especially for businesses and you have created the perfect climate for an economic disaster. Thank you Joe Biden and the Democrats. If you want to save this nation, then never vote for another Democrat! The GOP is far from perfect, just much better than the alternative.
And sloppy keeps saying he has saved a trillion dollars. Inflation is down a bit so they say. But prices are still rising every day. Not across the board. People are being lulled into inflation being down but prices are not. The prices pre inflation have not returned. And selectively everything is still costing more every week. It is subtle but it is there. And not by a few pennies but by a dollar on many items.
Don’t belief this regime when they tell you all is well.
Let’s be honest’ the existence of the United States of America is at stake in the 2024 “election”. When you look at everything that we’ve lost in the last 2.5 years (far too much to list here), I’m more than skeptical that the U.S. exists right now. Certainly not as a Constitutional Republic, anyhow. That’s not pessimism; that’s realism. We are in a spiritual war…a war of good vs evil…period.
If the swamp is to be drained and it must if anything is to change it must come from the bottom To give up a little comfort for the certain hardship is scary thought for those who never done it In the end it’s the best decision ever Ask anyone who came with nothing but hope for better life Is that not what America is about? It is not about the comfort of the creatures in the swamp
If Trump doesn’t win the 2024 election this country as we once knew it will be gone forever. In the past 2 1/2 years Biden and the Democrats have ruined the middle class. The Democrat Party was once known for supporting the working man. Today they support Big Tech. We’ve seen the economy nosedive with crushing inflation and anti-business policies. We have “regressed” under their “progressive” policies where many people are barely making it working paycheck to paycheck. Biden’s deliberate policies to increase the price of energy, namely gas, has caused a domino effect on the economy and all but killed any disposable income for those living on a fixed income or raising a family. And where are the Republicans in Congress to press the case for this sabotage to our economy? Mitch McConnell is totally ineffective and should be replaced along with dozens of other RHINOs. The Republican Party has failed us. They are more interested in their personal situation than that of their constituents.
In order to keep spending, government must either increase taxes or do something dramatic like start a war. Democrats love taxing US and they love creating wars.
So why did we elect Biden ? If it happened once it can happen again. Voters decided to throw away all that Trump achieved. I have little faith in voters suddenly “getting smart”.
& add these:
CUT Deep State
End censorship or reduce
Return to 1 tier Justice
Purge Govt
Congress should have passed a bill for the tax cuts. The POTUS should not have the power to bypass Congress to do whatever they want to do with tax code. And Trump passed this thinking he would be elected for four more years is why; it ends in 2025. The Executive Order has become a real dangerous weapon in the hands of any POTUS in the WH at the time.
More Biden election interference. Or is it censorship? They run the clock as Biden crime family, he and Son pressured Burisma 5 m dollars each for Ukraine influencers. Corrupt and determined Not to allow a fair election.
Trump- America First.
I am a recipient of the tax cuts of 2017; I paid less taxes as a result of the lower tax rates based on the higher standard deductions – the first time I did not need to itemize in many, many years.
Since the article mentioned Walmart, I will highlight some actions taken by them after they gave employees a raise (I am, and have been an employee for four years). I cannot prove or verify this to be certain but since the Biden regime has been in power, Walmart has eliminated quarterly bonuses for hourly employees; with their recent raise for this year (2023), they eliminated annual tenure raises. Prior to this year, when Walmart increased the hourly wage for all employees, they increased each employee’s wage each year on their anniversary date. In my case, it amounted to 22 cents an hour; I was receiving 44 cents based on my tenure. In January, when we received the latest pay raise to a minimum of $14.00 per hour, that’s what all hourly employees received – not $14.00 plus the amount for tenure! In my case, I received $14.00 an hour, which was/is the exact amount new hires receive. Previously, I was receiving $11.00/hour + 44 cents for tenure; I expected my new hourly wage would be $14.44! Doesn’t sound like a lot but there are employees who have been with Walmart for many years who, in reality, received much less of a “raise” (one employee I’m aware of actually received a four cent raise!) due to the loss of the tenure pay. In addition, employees who were receiving a higher “minimum” due to their positions, also now receive the minimum wage of $14.00 (example: as a Self-Checkout host, the minimum starting wage was $12.00 an hour; for an Asset Protection host, it was $13.00 an hour – with the 2023 adjustments, the Asset Protection hosts pay went to $14.00, thereby losing their additional position boost). Although I am not familiar with all positions, others who were receiving a minimum wage + tenure boost, also received the new minimum wage of $14.00.
My point for all of this: the Biden regime’s taxes on Walmart, as well as other businesses, affected the overall anticipated/real income of Walmart Inc., making it necessary for the company to adjust wages accordingly. I am not endorsing Walmart’s profit/loss records because I understand business – whether good or bad from your standpoint, all companies must, in their business structure, make a certain amount of profit to meet the desires/needs of company executives, etc. From an employee standpoint, what Walmart did in the past few years was not right in that it negatively impacted overall employee compensations and expectations. I firmly believe that the better any company flourishes, the better their employees will benefit. Since Biden could not do away with Trump’s tax plan of 2017, he found other ways to restrict businesses growth thereby restricting employees benefits.
I fully support the Fair Tax!
Trump tax were passed to last until because Trump figured he would beat Biden in 2020. That did not happen & it seems like the corporations & Millionaires have reaped the biggest benefits from these cuts. And it is very disappointing to me that some of the companies used this tax cut money to buy back their stocks & pay humongous salaries/bonus to CEOs. The greed at the top wage earners is getting worse every year.
It is never easy to take back a gimme once you give it to people, but how can we continue with these tax cuts when our Federal Debt is increase +$1 Trillion per year. As an American taxpayer & citizens, I learned long ago that I had to pay my bills & live within my means and not not go into debt or bankruptcy. The White House needs a new Secretary of Treasury & a new POTUS if they do not understand the economics of continuing this spiral of increasing debt. The last balanced budget was when Clinton was POTUS.
I’m Donald trump. Everyone I meet keeps saying Im dumb.
Check the facts the election was stolen. The courts who are in with the dems have thrown out every lawsuit brought about by the fraudulent election. That does not mean it didn’t happen. It only means that it is a dictatorship in the USA and opposition to the dems and the left is not allowed. Soros has bought every DA and judges and attorney generals he could buy. And is buying votes as we speak. And is selling you too if it becomes necessary not only the reps. Once they have absolute power nobody is safe. They are working on depopulating the world and America has signed off on that as well. Out of the 195 countries in the world 191 have signed the UN agenda 21. Where the New World Order is laid out. And remember what Klaus Schwab of the WEF said. By 2030 you will own nothing and you will be happy. Orders are orders. Just like in World War II but you probably have never heard of that either. May I suggest you read up on it. Maybe then you can tolerate a different opinion. Instead of calling them liars. Broaden your mind.
“Tax the rich” will mean “tax as much as possible, while increasing deductions for people wealthy enough to be able to save on taxes through deductions.
Subsidizing purchase of electric vehicles implies the buyer wouldn’t buy the EV otherwise.
Purchases requiring subsidies to incentivize purchase are not sustainable.