Formatting necessary for an accurate reading of this text may be shown by tags (e.g., <DELETED> or <BOLD>) or may be missing from this TXT display. For complete and accurate display of this text, see the PDF.
[Pages S6052-S6053]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
TAX REFORM
Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, today Senate Democrats will push
forward their own resolution that seeks to undermine part of the
historic tax reform we passed in 2017.
Remember, back then, Washington Democrats were downright hysterical
about our plan to let working Americans send less of their paycheck to
the IRS. Speaker Pelosi called the tax cuts ``Armageddon.'' She said it
was ``the worst bill in the history of the United States Congress.''
That is the Speaker on the 2017 tax reform bill. I guess that shows how
much Democrats hate to cut taxes. But tax reform passed, and the
results are clear. It has increased Americans' take-home pay and helped
generate one of the best economic moments for working families in a
generation.
Since tax reform, 22 States, including my State of Kentucky, have set
new record-low unemployment rates. The national unemployment rate has
set a 50-year low. But, alas, rather than acknowledge that the sky
hasn't fallen, our Democratic friends still want to undermine tax
reform--and listen to where they have elected to start. Listen to this.
Democrats' first target is changing the Tax Code so that working
families across the country have to subsidize wealthy people in States
like New York, New Jersey, and California.
Here is the background. As part of tax reform, in order to maximize
middle-class relief, the deductibility of State and local tax payments
was capped. Most middle-class taxpayers were more than compensated for
this through other tax cuts, but for some wealthy people who elect to
live in high-tax States, this represented a partial increase.
Republicans didn't think it was fair that middle-class working
families in States the Obama economy left behind had to subsidize the
tax bills of rich people in high-tax States without limit. We didn't
eliminate the State and local tax deduction; we just capped it for high
earners. That cap is what Democrats want to undermine. Their resolution
would help high-tax States--typically governed by Democrats--create
workarounds for their high-earners.
Let's be clear about what would happen if Democrats got their real
objective and repealed the SALT cap altogether. According to data from
the Joint Committee on Taxation, 94 percent of the benefit would flow
to taxpayers who earn more than $200,000 a year. That is what they are
advocating. Ninety-four percent of the benefit would flow to taxpayers
who earn more than $200,000 a year. More than half of it would actually
go to people who make more than $1 million a year--cutting taxes for
the rich. Repealing the SALT cap would give millionaires an average tax
cut of $60,000. Meanwhile, the average tax cut for taxpayers earning
between $50,000 and $100,000 would be less than $10. There would be
$60,000 tax cuts for wealthy people and $10 tax cuts for the middle
class. Apparently that sounds like a good trade to our Democratic
colleagues. It doesn't sound like good trade to me.
I am sorry to break it to my Democratic colleagues, but the middle-
class Kentuckians I represent have zero interest--zero interest--in
cross-subsidizing the tax bills of millionaires who live in Brooklyn
and the Bay Area.
It is bad enough that my Democratic colleagues want to unwind tax
reform, but it is downright comical that their top priority--a top
priority--is helping wealthy people in blue States find loopholes to
pay even less. They won't even
[[Page S6053]]
propose to repeal the SALT cap outright because they know it is bad
policy and negates all of their talking points about tax fairness. They
just want to bless a backdoor workaround.
I urge Members on both sides to use common sense and reject
Democrats' resolution when we vote on it later today.
____________________
