NOT ONE PENNY FACT CHECK: The Wealthy Are Getting YUGE Windfall From His Tax Bill

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Tuesday, January 30, 2018

PRESS CONTACT:
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Washington, D.C. — Don’t believe the hype – millionaires, billionaires, and wealthy corporations are the big winners of the GOP tax plan, no matter what Trump said in tonight’s State of the Union address.

“The GOP Tax Bill was written by and for the wealthy and well-connected,” said Tax March Executive Director Nicole Gill. “What Donald Trump said tonight, trying to paint this bill as anything but a taxpayer-funded giveaway to the ultra-rich, is fundamentally dishonest, and the American people are not buying it.”

Case in point – Trump’s tax plan fattens his own wallet:

Washington Post: “The tax plan’s transformation into law crystallizes the contrast between Trump’s populist rhetoric and the private fortune he made by marketing condos, hotels and golf resorts to a wealthy clientele. The Republicans’ first legislative triumph of 2017 will ensure a financial windfall for the president and his family in a way that is virtually unprecedented in American political history, experts said.”
USA Today: “Trump’s decision to keep Americans in the dark on his taxes — the first president since Nixon to do so — makes it nearly impossible to know exactly how the bill benefits him, though tax policy experts say it almost certainly will. They describe a plan tilted toward the wealthiest Americans with specific protections for real estate developers like Trump, his adult children and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner.”

The mega-rich are already finding ways to exploit the law:

Bloomberg: “Republican lawmakers said they wanted to simplify the tax code so you could file your return on a postcard. It turns out the new tax law will be anything but simple for many affluent Americans, who are now inundating their accountants for advice.”
CNBC: “Under the law, companies will now be able to write off the cost of new equipment immediately rather than over an extended time, thereby lowering their short-term taxes. Because money is worth more now than in the future (the time value of money), they will save more in the long run from deductions than they would have previously. With this provision set to begin to phase out in five years, retailers looking to automate are under the gun.”

And, GOP donors are already rewarding Republicans for passing the tax bill:

CNBC: “The network of advocacy groups tied to billionaire industrialists Charles and David Koch pledged to spend close to $400 million on campaign contributions and policy initiatives in the lead-up to the vote in November, a 60 percent jump in spending from the 2016 election cycle, officials said. One of the hallmarks of that effort is a fresh influx of support for the Republican tax plan, with up to $20 million devoted to selling its benefits to voters this year.”
Bloomberg: “There’s nothing like $1.5 trillion in tax cuts to help make friends at a gathering of conservative political donors. Donald Trump is gaining ground with members to the Koch political network, after the president’s name was hardly mentioned when the deep-pocketed individuals last assembled seven months ago.”
Politico: “Republicans in Congress faced a near-mutiny last fall from some wealthy GOP donors frustrated with Washington’s inability to get anything done. Then they passed the tax bill. Now the checkbooks are open again, the party’s top bankrollers say — just in time for a challenging midterm election cycle.”
International Business Times: “Thirteen days after the U.S. House passed its version of the tax legislation, Charles Koch and his wife, Elizabeth, combined to donate nearly $500,000 to House Speaker Paul Ryan’s joint fundraising committee.”

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