A House tax panel approved on Monday Republican tax changes after a day of debating whether these changes would really help the middle class. Lawmakers reinstated the tax exemption for parents who receive child care benefits from the companies they work for. The amendment from the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, Kevin Brady, were adopted with a 24-16 vote. The changes were made to the tax legislation Republicans put forward last Thursday.
The heated bickering between Republicans and Democrats over the $6 trillion plan was concluded with the voted. Democrats mainly objected to the repeal of the child adoption credit, as well as to the bill’s limits on deductions for homeowners. Republicans concentrated the findings by Congress’ Joint Committee on Taxation, claiming that in the next few years taxes will be lowered at all income levels by the bill.
“Clearly this is helping real people. It’s helping teachers, it’s helping students, it’s helping struggling families that are living paycheck to paycheck,” Republican Erik Paulsen said.
On the other hand, Democrats were adamant that a section of the analysis shows the bill will increase taxes for families with annual incomes of $20,000 to $40,000, starting in 2023.
“There are a lot of people expecting a tax cut who would be big losers under this bill. This is a joke and you’ve got to face up to it,” Democrat Bill Pascrell said.
The bill unveiled by the GOP last week is the most extensive restructuring of the tax code in the past several decades, but it still remains unclear whether Republicans will succeed in passing it. If they do, it would represent the biggest win for them and for President Donald Trump, ABC News reports.
The legislation includes tax cuts to corporations and repeals the estate tax, which only goes in favor of a small percentage of the population, and is expected to add about $1.5 trillion to the national deficit. Even so, Republicans maintained the middle class would benefit from it.
“It’s about making America’s economy stronger than ever by delivering more jobs, fairer taxes and bigger paychecks across the nation,” Brady said.
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