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Paul Teller: Could Biden’s proposed tax hike crush workers and the economy?

Thought Leader: Paul Teller
May 20, 2024
Source: The Hill
Written by: Paul Teller

Opinion piece by Paul Teller.

The Biden administration is poised to impose a $3 trillion tax hike. That would be the effect of ending the Trump-era tax cuts.

President Biden is eager for more money from U.S. taxpayers, and he is willing to drive businesses back overseas by raising corporate tax rates. It’s clear that Biden would rather fund his big government progressive agenda than ensure that working citizens can afford necessities.

The Biden tax hike isn’t about relief for the middle class. It is about supporting exorbitant government spending, which could drive the national debt to new highs. The plan will be crushing for hardworking Americans struggling under Bidenomics.

Biden’s desire to end the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) — the most significant tax cuts since the 1980s — is just the latest in a string of poor economic decisions by his administration. The TCJA, which I was proud to help enact as a member of the White House legislative affairs team, led to record prosperity, especially among the poorest segments of our society. It also ensured that well-paying jobs stayed in the U.S.

Before a global pandemic wreaked havoc on the world economy, the U.S. was reaching new economic heights. Jobless claims nearly hit a 50-year low. Unemployment rates for Blacks, Hispanics, Asian Americans, Native Americans, veterans, the disabled and those without a high school degree all hit record lows.

In fact, income inequality plummeted by the largest amount in a decade, with wages rising the fastest for low-income and blue-collar workers. In fact, the net worth of the bottom half of U.S. households rose by 40 percent. Manufacturing jobs even returned to the U.S. alongside more than $1.5 trillion in repatriated funds.

The TCJA was vital to this success, ushering in $3.2 trillion in tax relief. The majority saw their tax burden lightened under the plan. Between 2017 and 2019, middle class household incomes rose by about $6,000 dollars. Government revenue surged as the economy came back to life.

Although Democrats would like everyone to believe that corporations are not paying their fair share under TCJA, tax revenue from corporations increased dramatically between 2017 and 2023, skyrocketing from $297 billion to $420 billion — a 41 percent increase in revenue.

In total, government revenue increased by 33 percent between 2018 and 2023 because of the TCJA. Unfortunately, Washington used these soaring revenues for further big-government spending, rather than national debt reduction.

If Congress fails to extend the TCJA, these gains will be lost. Families making as little as $11,600 a year would suddenly see their tax rates go up. The economy is likely to slow and stall, leading to less government revenue, lower wages and jobs heading overseas.

Already, the cost of living is too much for many families to bear. On average, Americans already pay at least $14,000 in hidden regulatory costs each year. Biden’s policies are also set to drive up the cost of water heaters by $2,800, gas stoves by $3,250 and gas furnaces by nearly $500, according to Alliance for Consumers. The regulatory cost for manufacturers grew 25 percent from 2012 to 2022 at a shocking $350 billion. The fishing industry is also in the crosshairs, with Biden regulations causing immense uncertainty and costing fishermen an additional $710 a day to provide for their families and deliver food to customers.

In short, Democrats have abandoned the middle class and those working hardest to contribute to our society.

Biden’s decision to call for scrapping the TCJA reveals his misplaced priorities. The tax hike is meant to prop up his big government plans and place a ballooning administrative state on the backs of the American people. The national debt stands at a disturbingly high $34 trillion. Biden’s recent budget proposal would add to this debt, asking for $7.3 trillion in spending, and building on his costly $1.8 trillion American Rescue Plan and the “Green New Deal lite” plan, which is expected to cost $428 billion more than its projected $764.9 billion.

In short, Biden’s tax plan is not about returning money to the wallets of the American people. On the contrary, it is about pursuing his big government plans that will lead to surging prices, lower wages and less money for workers and taxpayers. Congress must not allow his plans to go forward unchallenged. It must instead stop out-of-control government spending and act to ensure the continuation of the TCJA. The vitality of our nation’s economy depends it.

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