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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsWho is the GOP tax plan for? Trump fundraiser hints at the answer
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/who-the-gop-tax-plan-trump-fundraiser-hints-the-answerWho is the GOP tax plan for? Trump fundraiser hints at the answer
12/04/17 08:30 AM
By Steve Benen
Senate Republican leaders hoped to wrap up work on their tax plan on Thursday night, but it quickly became apparent that they hadnt yet locked up the votes. As members left Capitol Hill that night, they faced a challenge: the GOP bill was too expensive, and making it cheaper wouldnt be easy.
And so, they didnt try. Instead of making the legislation more affordable, Republicans decided to make it more expensive, throwing in all kinds of 11th-hour treats benefiting the wealthy. Slate highlighted one especially notable last-minute addition to the GOP plan.
Senate Republicans are getting ready to pass their tax bill any minute now but not before tacking on one last gift for their donors.
University of San Diego law professor Victor Fleischer spotted the early Christmas present in a leaked list of the amendments Republicans are planning to include in the bill. It comes courtesy of Texas Senator John Cornyn. In essence, it lets the partners of giant private equity firms like Blackstone and Apollo Global Management, as well as a number of energy companies, take advantage of the bills big tax cut for pass-through businesses, which arent subject to the corporate rate.
University of San Diego law professor Victor Fleischer spotted the early Christmas present in a leaked list of the amendments Republicans are planning to include in the bill. It comes courtesy of Texas Senator John Cornyn. In essence, it lets the partners of giant private equity firms like Blackstone and Apollo Global Management, as well as a number of energy companies, take advantage of the bills big tax cut for pass-through businesses, which arent subject to the corporate rate.
A New York Times report quoted USC professor Edward Kleinbard, a former chief of staff for the congressional Joint Committee on Taxation, saying, The Senate went out of its way to confirm that passive investors in these publicly traded investment vehicles get the benefit of the pass-through discount tax rate. This is a working definition of a tax boondoggle.
But thats not the punchline. This is the punchline.
Despite the continued media focus on Flynn, Trump was in a buoyant mood as he crossed Manhattan on Saturday, bragging about his election win in Rust Belt states and the improving economy. He did not mention Russia or Flynn, attendees of the various fundraisers said.
At several stops, he touted the Senates passage early Saturday morning of the GOP tax bill and predicted that Democrats who voted against it would lose their next elections.
Trumps stops included the palatial Upper East Side apartment of Steve Schwarzman, the chairman of a global private-equity firm.
At several stops, he touted the Senates passage early Saturday morning of the GOP tax bill and predicted that Democrats who voted against it would lose their next elections.
Trumps stops included the palatial Upper East Side apartment of Steve Schwarzman, the chairman of a global private-equity firm.
Of course, Steve Schwarzman isnt just the chairman of any ol global private-equity firm; hes the chairman of the Blackstone Group which stands to benefit greatly from the generous treat added on Friday night to the Republican tax plan.
For weeks, theres been quite a bit of speculation about why in the world congressional Republicans would scramble to pass a woefully unpopular tax plan. Theres probably no one answer that explains every GOP policymakers motivation, but its hard to deny the evidence that suggests demands from wealthy Republican donors made an enormous difference.
Indeed, many have been quite candid on this point.
We got one hint toward an answer last month from Rep. Chris Collins (R-N.Y.). Asked how donors felt about the tax-reform proposal, Collins replied, My donors are basically saying, Get it done or dont ever call me again.
Collins wasnt the first to hint at a powerful force driving the legislative process. In June, the Associated Press reported that, in the absence of Obamacare repeal and tax reform, big donors had shut down fundraisers. That failed repeal effort, Sen. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.) reportedly told his peers, had made donors furious. The same attitude applies to the tax bill, as Mother Jones wrote this week.
I dont know why donors should give to the [National Republican Senatorial Committee] until tax reform is passed, a major Republican donor told the magazine.
Collins wasnt the first to hint at a powerful force driving the legislative process. In June, the Associated Press reported that, in the absence of Obamacare repeal and tax reform, big donors had shut down fundraisers. That failed repeal effort, Sen. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.) reportedly told his peers, had made donors furious. The same attitude applies to the tax bill, as Mother Jones wrote this week.
I dont know why donors should give to the [National Republican Senatorial Committee] until tax reform is passed, a major Republican donor told the magazine.
The result is an almost cartoonish dynamic that unfolded on Saturday: a Republican whos benefited from private-equity contributions quietly included a provision in the Republican tax plan to benefit private-equity powerhouses. The Republican president bragged about the bill soon after at a fundraiser hosted by the CEO of one of the nations biggest private-equity firms.
Anyone watching current events who still thinks Trump is a populist, ready to fight for working families, is profoundly confused.
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Who is the GOP tax plan for? Trump fundraiser hints at the answer (Original Post)
babylonsister
Dec 2017
OP
Wellstone ruled
(34,661 posts)1. Some of the money in Blackstone Group
are mega wealthy Russian Oligarchs.