On behalf of the AFL-CIO, I urge you to oppose the conference report for the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (H.R. 1), which is scheduled for a vote this week. This tax bill is a job killer that gives huge tax breaks to wealthy corporations that outsource jobs at the expense of working people.
At a time when growing inequality is threatening our economic future, H.R. 1 rigs the rules even more in favor of the wealthy and the powerful. Big banks, hedge funds, and other Wall Street firms will be the biggest winners from key provisions of this bill. According to the Tax Policy Center, the richest 1% of households will receive 83% of the tax cuts by 2027, and the richest 0.1% will get an average tax cut of more than $148,000. The tax bill is also full of complex gimmicks that will encourage tax avoidance while enriching lawyers and accountants.
Working people will be stuck with the bill for this wasteful tax boondoggle. We will pay the price in the form of outsourced jobs, because this bill eliminates U.S. taxation of corporate profits earned from offshore operations. Working people will pay the price in taxes, as 70 million households making less than $100,000 will pay higher taxes by 2027. We will pay the price in the form of Medicaid and Medicare benefit cuts, as Republican leaders have already announced their plans to use the deficit they have created as an excuse to cut benefits for working people.
Working people will pay the price in the form of job-killing cuts to education, infrastructure, and other essential services that will result from lost federal revenues and from limiting the deduction for state and local taxes. Finally, partial repeal of Obamacare will lead to 10% higher health care premiums in the individual market and 13 million more people without health care, according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO).
We urge you to vote against this shameful piece of legislation.
Sincerely,
William Samuel, Director
Government Affairs Department