Jacob Ogles
U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan is filing legislation to prevent Donald Trump-era tax cuts from expiring.
“In 2017, Republicans delivered the most comprehensive overhaul of the U.S. tax code in more than three decades and achieved historic economic growth,” Buchanan said.
“With Americans continuing to suffer under the weight of record-high inflation and an uncertain economic future, we need to provide some much-needed relief and certainty to hardworking families and Main Street businesses and ensure these tax cuts do not expire.”
The Longboat Key Republican introduced similar legislation last year, when Democrats held a majority in the House.
The legislation addresses 23 provisions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Buchanan helped to craft that legislation as a member of the House Ways and Means Committee when Republicans last held a majority and Trump served as President. At the time, Buchanan served as Ways and Means Tax Policy Subcommittee Chair.
Buchanan is now the most senior Republican on the powerful committee, which oversees trade and taxation issues. While Buchanan recently lost a bid to lead the panel, U.S. Rep. Jason Smith, the Missouri Republican who won Ways and Means Chair, named Buchanan as Vice Chair.
When Buchanan filed legislation to stop the expiration of many parts of the Trump tax cuts, fiscally conservative groups immediately rallied around the move. But a Democratic House never took up the measure to send to Democratic President Joe Biden. The legislation ultimately served in the fall as a campaign promise from Republicans as they sought to retake the House.
In November, Republicans did, winning a slim majority for the first time since the 2018 Midterms. That means the legislation now has a clearer path forward, at least in the House.
The Tax Foundation continues to support the bill, stating “most taxpayers will see a tax hike unless some or all provisions are extended.” The group’s fiscal analysis predicts a single mother of two earning $52,000 would face a $1,500 tax hike in 2026 if tax cuts expire, while a married couple with two children and $85,000 in income would see an increase over $1,700 per year.
It still may be a challenge for the bill to become law as written. Democrats still control the Senate, and Biden can veto a bill coming from Congress regardless.
2 comments
MH/Duuuval
February 14, 2023 at 6:55 pm
“The Tax Foundation continues to support the bill,”– but of course — they love the bill that pulled $2.1 trillion out of the budget and left it in the hands of the ultra-wealthy and their corporate entities.
cassandra
February 15, 2023 at 4:56 pm
Let Trumps’s tax cuts expire, raise the top income and corporate rates, and stop taxing lower and middle income earners.
Then ‘The Tax Foundation’ can stop worrying about the “single mother of two” because she won’t owe ANY taxes.
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