Skip to Content
IRS Whistleblowers, click here to contact the Ways & Means Committee about waste, fraud, and abuse.

Another Democrat TCJA Talking Point Debunked

July 12, 2019 — Blog   

Taxes.  In 2017, Republicans cut them.  Income tax rates were lowered across the board, family-focused tax credits were drastically expanded, and local businesses are now armed with a competitive tax code that allows them to compete and win.

Democrats falsely claimed that the GOP tax cuts only helped those at the top and corporations.

Recent data from the Internal Revenue Service suggests otherwise.

What happened?  This spring was the first year that workers filed taxes under our new tax code.  According to the nonpartisan Tax Foundation, the IRS data shows that “total tax liability fell for all income groups except those earning over $1 million in 2018.”

When looking at the data, our new tax code is giving the biggest relief to low- and middle-class workers.

For a worker making $50,000, she paid roughly 15 percent less in federal income taxes last year.  That is more money that can now go to groceries, family vacations, or paying off credit card debt.

Time saved.  Additionally, thanks to a standard deduction nearly twice its size, millions of more taxpayers no longer have to deal with the hassle of itemizing their taxes.

Tax Foundation reports “the percent of taxpayers who itemized went down at all income levels.”  That is time, money, and stress saved for taxpayers across the country.

More money for raising kids.  Being a parent is tough.  Republicans wanted to ensure that our tax code benefited families as they raise their children – so we doubled the Child Tax Credit and, for the first time, expanded its refundability to millions more families.

This is relief going directly to the families who need it most.  Tax Foundation finds that “the expansion benefited taxpayers across the income spectrum, except for the highest levels.”

A reality check.  While Republicans continue to push for policies that will continue to grow our workforce, help Main Street businesses win, and help workers have a secured retirement, Democrats are advocating for the opposite.

45 House Democrats, including 11 Ways and Means Democrats, are co-sponsors on a bill to repeal the limit placed on the state and local tax deduction.  The liberal Tax Policy Center confirms that “more than 96 percent of the tax cut would go to the highest-income 20 percent of households.”  And Bloomberg reports that this move would be a “$40 billion windfall for millionaires.”

Additionally, 210 Democrats are co-sponsors on the Social Security 2100 ActHeritage estimates this legislation will raise taxes on middle-class families by $1,200 a year.

Simply put.  While Democrats advocate for tax cuts for the well-off and tax hikes for blue-collar workers, Republicans remain committed to building on tax reform’s successes so families always have first say over their hard-earned money.