Vol. 2: Trump’s Broken Tax Promises
November 22, 2017
President Trump and his administration have made a lot of promises about their tax plan, all of which have been broken or will soon be broken by the Republican tax plan currently moving through Congress. Here’s just one:
Trump’s Broken Promise #2: Trump vowed that everyone from truckers to seniors would benefit under his plan.
TRUMP: “And Susi says that high taxes are forcing seniors like her to make painful cuts and cutbacks during the golden years of their lives. Best years of their lives. She hopes Congress will pass our framework so we can help more American seniors make ends meet on a fixed income. We must honor and respect — (applause) — the people whose decades of hard work helped to build our country and to make our country great.”
Associated Press: “Trump to pitch tax plan as boon for truckers”
Reality: The Republican tax plan could eliminate deductions for medical expenses and catch-up 401k contributions that older Americans rely on.
New York Times: “One particularly hardhearted change would eliminate the deduction for medical expenses, which is primarily used by people with serious and chronic illnesses.”
CNBC: “Workers over age 50 would no longer be able to make catch-up contributions on a pretax basis to their retirement plans under a new amendment to the GOP’s Senate version of the tax bill… This amendment would permit workers over age 50 to contribute up to an additional $9,000 each year to their retirement plans, but it would require that these contributions be made to Roth accounts. Those are accounts where taxes are paid upfront.”
Despite Trump’s claim, most truck drivers wouldn’t be helped by the Republican tax plan.
Business Insider: “Under Trump's plan, only 1.8% of small-business owners — about 670,000 people, all with family incomes over $400,000 — would enjoy this 40% tax cut. ‘For the many American truckers who file taxes as sole-proprietors, S corporations or partnerships, we will cap your top tax rate at a maximum of 25%,’ he said. ‘Substantially lower than what you're paying now.’ This was mostly a lie, even as applied to the minority of truckers who, as the president describes, work for themselves and file taxes like a small business. A single trucker would have to make well over $100,000 for this cap to matter — or would need a family income over $200,000, if married. The average trucker makes about $41,000. So, most truckers would come nowhere close to saving from this cap.”