How a GOP Tax Cut Plan Became a Gift to Democrats
Remember how cameras followed Rep. Kevin McCarthy up and down the aisles of the House as he tried to string together enough deals during 15 rounds of voting to be elected House speaker?
The California Republican gathered enough votes to win the post — and now he seems to be running almost as fast to back away from some of those deals.
One particularly problematic example is the proposed Fair Tax Act, which is not to be confused with the failed Illinois Fair Tax.The proposed Illinois state constitutional amendment on the 2020 ballot would have changed the state’s income tax system from a flat tax to a graduated income tax.
The proposed federal measure, a radical product of the GOP’s right-wing Freedom Caucus, would abolish the Internal Revenue Service, do away with income, payroll, estate and gift taxes and replace the income tax with a 30% national sales tax.
Wow. Are you as gobsmacked by that 30% figure as I am? Rep. Earl “Buddy” Carter, the Georgia Republican who introduced the bill, argues on his website that the 30% is really more like 23%, since the tax is included in the purchase price.
Right. I’m all in favor of simplifying the annual torture that filing income taxes puts me through, especially if it also lowers taxes. But, since I was not a math major in school, I identify as too math-illiterate to know whether this bill will save me money or take me to the cleaners.
But, wait, there’s more. To further sweeten the deal, the bill includes a monthly check, which Carter calls a “prebate,” that would go out to every registered household to cover the consumption tax spent on necessities up to the federal poverty level.
Thank you, sir. But already this tax simplification plan is sounding too complicated for me.
One group appears to be particularly delighted by this Republican proposal: Democrats.
Democratic leaders mocked McCarthy’s apparent cave-in to Trump-aligned MAGA Republicans with various concessions in exchange for their votes.
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