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The Pinocchio Six: Myths, Lies, and Debunked Claims About Taxes

September 29, 2021 — Blog    — Press Releases    — Select Revenue Measures   

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  1. False: Biden: “All of [GOP Tax Cuts] went to folks at the top and corporations that pay no taxes.”
  • The Washington Post fact check gave this “4 Pinocchios,” saying this is “simply wrong” and “clearly false.”
  • Three of every four dollars in the 2017 tax cuts went to individuals, cutting taxes for the lowest-income Americans by 10 percent while cutting taxes for the top 1 percent by less than one-half of 1 percent.
  • In the 2017 GOP tax reform, corporations effectively paid for 85 percent of their tax cuts thanks to eliminating special tax provisions and broadening the U.S. tax base.
  1. Myth: “The wealthy don’t pay their ‘fair share.’”
  • America has long had one of the most progressive tax codes among developed nations, with higher-income people paying higher tax rates, say the Organization for Economic Cooperation & Development (OECD).
  • The top 1 percent pay 40 percent of all income taxes, and the top 10 percent pays 70 percent of all income taxes, according to the Tax Foundation.
  • After the GOP Tax Cuts, the rich pay a larger, not smaller, share of income taxes.
  1. False: “83 percent of Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) tax cuts went to top 1 percent.”
  • The Washington Post gave this false statement “3 Pinocchios,” calling it a “zombie claim” and “galling.” Politifact agreed, calling it “misleading.”
  1. False: “Corporate tax receipts declined by 40 percent after GOP Tax Cuts.”
  • Like government revenue that reached record levels in the two years after GOP tax reform, corporate tax receipts are higher and growing after TCJA, despite Democrats’ claims.
  • Corporate tax revenues this year are $285 billion, 22 percent higher than the Obama-Biden Admin’s last year.
  • The Congressional Budget Office projects corporate tax revenues under TCJA will increase to $379 billion in 2023 – a record high.
  • Biden’s own budget scorers project U.S. corporate tax revenues under TCJA will reach 1.63 percent of GDP by 2025, higher than the 1.55 percent average in the decade before the GOP tax cuts.
  1. Myth: “55 profitable U.S. corporations paid no taxes last year.”
  • This is an unverifiable claim by a far-left group (ITEP) using flawed methodology. It is not based on actual tax data—taxpayer data is private and most 2020 tax corporate returns have yet to be filed.
  • This group confuses the difference between taxable income and financial statement reports.
  • Similar reports that U.S. multinational corporations only pay very low tax rates on their earnings overseas are flawed either by double-counting, faulty methodology, or cherry-picked data.
  1. Myth: “The Death Tax only impacts two of every 1,000 taxpayers who die.”
  • No American should work their whole life to build up a family-owned farm or business, only to have Washington swoop in and take nearly half of what you spent a lifetime to build.
  • Those hurt by the Death Tax also include millions of farms and other family businesses who are forced to waste precious time and money to avoid a mistake that will result in a confiscatory tax bill from the IRS.
  • The Death Tax crushes investment in workers and expanded operations, harms growth and opportunity.
  • The Death Tax ranks as a devastatingly inefficient tax since it raises a very small amount of revenue while placing a very large burden on farms and other family businesses. In fact, the Cato Institute says the Death Tax “is anti-saving and anti-investment,” encourages “wealthy folks to consume their wealth before death,” and does nothing for U.S. long-term growth.
  • A growing number of women- and minority-owned businesses are finding themselves subject to the Death Tax as they try to build wealth for the first time and pass it on to the next generation.

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