On this Tax Day, President Biden is working to pass the “largest tax hike in history” as part of his budget request, which includes $2.5 trillion in tax increases. This is after he failed to pass his Build Back Broke tax-and-spending agenda, which would’ve raised taxes and spending by trillions of dollars.
At the same time, Republicans in Congress are fighting on behalf of the American taxpayer, and U.S. Representative Rodney Davis (R-IL) is leading the charge. Rep. Davis has introduced legislation, H.R. 6658, the Protecting Family and Small Business Tax Cuts Act, to make the Trump tax cuts permanent. Davis’ legislation currently has 107 cosponsors in the House.
Davis first introduced this legislation in September of 2018, and it quickly passed the House, but the Senate failed to act on it. The original tax reform bill passed by the House on November 16, 2017 made the individual rates and deductions permanent, but eventually were made temporary by the Senate to abide by budget reconciliation rules. Currently, these provisions expire in 2025. This legislation would make them permanent.
President Trump’s former National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow in an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal earlier this year called for the tax cuts to be made permanent, stating, “These were not tax cuts for the rich. Real wages for the lowest 10% of Americans grew by 8% compared with a 5% rise for the top 10% of earners. The wealth of Americans in the bottom 50% grew three times as fast as the wealth of the richest 1%.” Davis appeared on Kudlow’s show on Fox Business Network earlier this year to highlight his bill to do just that.
“In 2017 under the leadership of President Trump we delivered the first major tax reform in 31 years and delivered on our promise to bring relief to middle-class families,” said Rep. Rodney Davis (R-IL). “We need to make the historic Trump tax cuts permanent for the millions of hardworking middle-class Americans who have benefitted from lower rates, simplified filings, and a doubling of both the standard deduction and Child Tax Credit. Making the Trump tax cuts permanent would continue to grow our economy, create new jobs, and provide certainty for families.”
This bill would make permanent the tax provisions for individuals and pass-through entities in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act:
- Lowered rates ensuring individuals at every income level saw a tax cut.
- Doubled the standard deduction to $12,950 for single filers and $25,900 for joint filers (Tax Year 2022 Inflation Adjusted).
- Simplified to the point where in tax year 2018 87% of filers took the standard deduction compared to 69% the year prior when the TCJA had not taken effect.
- Doubled the Child Tax Credit to $2,000 with up to $1,400 refundable.
- Retained popular deductions like mortgage interest, state and local taxes (SALT) (capped at $10,000), medical expenses, and charitable deductions.
- Created a first ever 20% tax deduction for small business owners who are the backbone of our Main Streets.
Original source can be found here.