AFA of PA ACTION ALERT
November 30, 2017
Issue
Tax Reform Vote
Details
Yesterday evening in the Senate, HR 1 (Tax Cuts and Jobs Act) passed the motion to proceed by a 52-48. This means the bill will be brought to the floor for debate before a final vote is taken – which is anticipated later today. As is so often the case, Senator Bob Casey and Senator Pat Toomey cancelled each other’s votes out by Casey voting “Nay” and Toomey voting “Aye.”
According to the Tax Foundation, the Senate tax reform bill would:
- reform both individual income and corporate income taxes and would move the United States to a territorial system of business taxation;
- the plan would significantly lower marginal tax rates and the cost of capital, which would lead to a 3.7 percent increase in GDP over the long term, 2.9 percent higher wages, and an additional 925,000 full-time equivalent jobs;
- increases the standard deduction to $12,000 for single filers, $18,000 for heads of household, and $24,000 for joint filers in 2018 (compared to $6,500, $9,550, and $13,000 respectively under current law);
- retains the charitable contribution deduction and the mortgage interest deduction for purchases, but eliminates the mortgage interest deduction for home equity debt. Fully repeals the state and local tax deduction, except for taxes paid or accrued in carrying on a trade or business;
- Expands the child tax credit from $1,000 to $1,650, while increasing the phaseout from $110,000 to $1 million for married couples. The first $1,000 would be refundable, with the amount increasing with inflation until it hits the $1,650 base amount.
Go to their website for more details.
In addition to the Tax Foundation’s explanations, the Senate bill would repeal the individual mandate in Obamacare. This is the first major overhaul of the US tax code since 1986.
Action Steps
Contact Senator Casey and Senator Toomey and ask them to vote in favor of HR 1 – the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
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