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Democrats Campaigned Against The GOP Tax Law But Are Barely Touching It
HuffPost via Yahoo After Republicans slashed tax rates in 2017, Democrats won control of the House of Representatives partly by promising to undo the “GOP tax scam.”
Democrats campaigned on taxes almost as aggressively as they ran on saving the Affordable Care Act. But now that they’re in power — and working on a major domestic policy bill funded by tax hikes on the rich — Democrats are barely touching the changes Republicans made with the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act under President Donald Trump.
“The irony of a Democratic president, Democratic House, Democratic Senate, if we don’t deal with rates?” said Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.). “An implied endorsement of the Trump tax cuts. It’s pretty wacky.”
The party’s reversal is largely due to one lawmaker: Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.). The senator has not addressed the issue publicly, but her office released a statement last month saying she thought increasing tax rates “will not in any way address the challenge of tax avoidance or improve economic competitiveness.”
Sinema’s position against raising rates ― even a little ― put Democrats in a real bind. She and other moderate members of her party have insisted the Build Back Better Act not add to the budget deficit. Democrats need her vote to pass the social spending and climate package, so they need to find other ways to help pay for the bill and make it deficit neutral.
Democrats campaigned on taxes almost as aggressively as they ran on saving the Affordable Care Act. But now that they’re in power — and working on a major domestic policy bill funded by tax hikes on the rich — Democrats are barely touching the changes Republicans made with the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act under President Donald Trump.
“The irony of a Democratic president, Democratic House, Democratic Senate, if we don’t deal with rates?” said Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.). “An implied endorsement of the Trump tax cuts. It’s pretty wacky.”
The party’s reversal is largely due to one lawmaker: Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.). The senator has not addressed the issue publicly, but her office released a statement last month saying she thought increasing tax rates “will not in any way address the challenge of tax avoidance or improve economic competitiveness.”
Sinema’s position against raising rates ― even a little ― put Democrats in a real bind. She and other moderate members of her party have insisted the Build Back Better Act not add to the budget deficit. Democrats need her vote to pass the social spending and climate package, so they need to find other ways to help pay for the bill and make it deficit neutral.
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