"It's truly un-American that the Republicans in Congress are trying to steal from disabled Americans to give to wealthy people." That’s what one disability activist said last week after he joined more than 50 other disabled activists at Senate Leader Mitch McConnell’s office to protest the GOP’s plan to kill the Affordable Care Act. McConnell had them all arrested; many of them were forcibly removed from their wheelchairs by Capitol police.1
That’s why we can’t let Speaker of the House Paul Ryan get away with his outrageous plan to cut taxes for corporations and wealthy individuals to the bone.
It’s not enough for Ryan to take healthcare away from millions of Americans. He wants to ensure big corporations and the wealthiest Americans don’t have to pay their fair share of taxes ever again. This flew under the radar last week due to the healthcare fight, but in a speech to the National Association of Manufacturers, Ryan promised that come hell or high water, he and his fellow Republicans were going to get “tax reform” done in 2017.2
Tell Congress: Don't put big corporations before sick Americans. Kill Paul Ryan’s corporate giveaway tax plan.
Ryan’s tax plan calls for a permanent slashing of corporate tax rates from 35% to 20%, creating a system where American multinational corporations would only have to pay taxes on their earnings inside the US, eliminating the Estate Tax, and killing the Alternative Minimum Tax.3,4,5
The Alternative Minimum Tax was what prevented Donald Trump from paying a measly 4% effective tax rate, a lower rate than most truckers and secretaries.6
And thanks to loopholes and deductions, many Fortune 500 companies pay $0 in income tax, and many others pay less than 20% already.7
We know that the Bush tax cuts did nothing but help the top 1%, drive income inequality, and blow a massive hole through the federal budget.8
And unlike the Bush tax cuts, which were temporary, Trump, Paul Ryan, and the rest of the GOP want to make their tax plan permanent. That could make paying for the things supported by the majority of Americans – universal healthcare, affordable higher education, and retirement security, next to impossible.
Tell Congress: Stop the giveaways to big corporations. Make sure Paul Ryan’s tax plan never sees the light of day.
The fact that Paul Ryan assured big companies of his plan to slash their taxes the very same week the GOP dropped their draconian plan to take healthcare away from millions of Americans is no accident. These policies work hand in glove.
The grand GOP tax reform plan isn’t about spurring growth and economic development; it’s about looking out for the rich at the expense of the rest of us, and paying back their big donors.
Tell Congress: Stop this huge tax giveaway to the rich at the expense of healthcare for millions of Americans. Kill Paul Ryan’s tax reform plan.
Sources:
1. Rolling Stone, "Why Disability Rights Activists Stormed Mitch McConnell's Office,” June 23, 2017.
2. CBS News, "House Speaker Paul Ryan promises major tax reform in 2017," June 20, 2017.
3. Mic, "What is the AMT? Here's why Donald Trump owed a $31 million alternative tax bill," March 14, 2017.
4. Washington Post, "Paul Ryan and Mike Pence leave big questions unanswered on tax reform, June 20, 2017.
5. CBS News, "White House aims to get tax overhaul bill to Congress in September," June 21, 2017.
6. Mic, "What is the AMT? Here's why Donald Trump owed a $31 million alternative tax bill," March 14, 2017.
7. Americans for Tax Fairness, "Fact Sheet: Corporate Tax Rates," Accessed June 22, 2017.
8. Washington Post, "Legacy of the Bush Tax Cuts, in four charts," January 2, 2013.