The Senate GOP Accidentally Killed Some of Its Donors Favorite Tax Breaks

[Justice]

Source: New York Magazine



Senate GOP screwed up their own tax bill - accidentally killed all corporate tax deductions!!


"Due to arcane Senate rules, the Trump tax cuts can only add $1.5 trillion to the deficit over the next decade. Last Thursday, the Senate tax bill already cost about that sum, and then McConnell started making expensive promises to his few holdouts. Susan Collins wanted a $10,000 property tax deduction for Americans in high-tax states; Ron Johnson wanted a 23 percent business-income deduction for the company that his family owns. This left the Senate Majority Leader searching under the tax code’s couch cushions for new sources of revenue.

Eventually, he came upon the corporate alternative minimum tax (AMT). At present, most corporations face a 35 percent (statutory) rate on their income. But by availing themselves of various tax credits and deductions, most companies can get their actual rates down far below that figure. To put a limit on just how far, the corporate AMT prevents companies from paying any less than 20 percent on their profits (or, more precisely, on the profits that they fail to hide overseas).

The GOP had originally intended to abolish the AMT. But on Friday, with the clock running out — and money running short — Senate Republicans put the AMT back into their bill. Unfortunately for McConnell, they forgot to lower the AMT after doing so.

This is a big problem. The Senate bill brings the normal corporate rate down to 20 percent — while leaving the alternative minimum rate at … 20 percent. The legislation would still allow corporations to claim a wide variety of tax credits and deductions — it just renders all them completely worthless. Companies can either take no deductions, and pay a 20 percent rate — or take lots of deductions … and pay a 20 percent rate."

In other words, Senate tax bill currently doesn't work!

Read more: http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2017/12/senate-gop-accidentally-killed-all-corporate-tax-deductions.html

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This is breaking news as it is the first place to highlight Senate bill has major flaw.

[They_Live]

1. ha ha ha. Jerks.

I hope they get everything that they deserve, and that all their ill will completely backfires on them.

[Angry Dragon]

2. where can one read the bill??

[sandensea]

3. Voila:

(if you can make out the handwritten margin notes, lest us know!)

https://www.vox.com/2017/12/1/16724800/senate-tax-bill-text

[Angry Dragon]

4. thank you.............still not written yet??

[sandensea]

6. Did they ever bother to properly print that section out, you mean?

Not sure.

Remember the old Woody Allen joke about banana republics' constitutions being written in pencil? That's today's congressional GOP (narcodollars included).

[karynnj]

10. Nope - they had huge cross out and handwriting on the side

Seriously, you could not turn that kind of a mess in elementary school.

[sandensea]

12. The best gummint money can buy.

They don't even bother to pretend to represent anyone but their Johns anymore.

[elfin]

5. That will be "fixed" in the Conference Committee

Along with finding more goodies for the 1% that were inadvertently left out.

Problem solved. Unless you are in my age and income and net worth bracket.

[BumRushDaShow]

7. The problem however

is that by "fixing" it and/or adding too many "goodies", it might no longer be do-able via the reconciliation process (which has strict criteria) that Turtle insists on using in the Senate to pass with GOP votes only (needing a simple majority), with no filibustering permitted.

[Justice]

8. Exactly right

Can the fix keep Susan Collins’ vote (who was allowed a bunch of amendments that cost money) or Ron Johnson’s vote (who was allowed amendments for pass thru companies like his family’s company) or not blow the deficit (which was how they got Flake’s vote) or continue to permit Alaska drilling (which is how they bribed Lisa M.?)

[elfin]

11. They will find a way somehow, someway

Maybe along the lines of "this can be addressed later once it takes effect" or some similar unconstitutional bullshit or parliamentary hocus pocus to work around that pesky 50 or 51 votes (in the Senate) to pass the travesty without any real open discussion.

Maybe strong arming fence sitters with blackmail about past transgressions rather than any more goodies already promised.

Gonna be ugly and mostly at 2AM, but SOMETHING will be signed by tRump with great fanfare IMO.

They think that the mantra of &quot phony) tax cuts" will keep their IQ -limited base.

This is do or die with them (Ryan/McConnell/tRump). Last chance city.

They will kill the country before their perceived reelection prospects die and the donor base sours.

Hope I am wrong.

However, I have been wrong wrong wrong about nearly everything since tRump glided down the golden escalator. So that is a glimmer of hope.

[BumRushDaShow]

15. "this can be addressed later once it takes effect"

The problem with that "promise" is again the limits on being able to use the "reconciliation" process for those "later addressed" things.

I.e., they cannot use reconciliation more than 3 times per fiscal year (and it has to be on different types of bills) and it generally has to relate to the budget and not other policy things... where normal legislation requires 60 votes for cloture (breaking a filibuster), and the GOP doesn't have those votes in the Senate. They may be able to peel away some of the blue dogs from the Democrats but they would need 8 of them to advance that legislation to the floor, and surprisingly, our "moderates" have held pretty fast this year (unless there is something in it for them and/or Democrats).

The ACA was actually passed that way - using 2 pieces of legislation - with 60 D votes for the initial bill and then using reconciliation to do the "fix" version after they lost Ted Kennedy's seat and only had 59. The GOP only has 52 votes to work with (+ Pence if needed to break a tie).

[karynnj]

9. This is great news as it likely means the House will not just pass the Senate version as is

It was not easy to get through the Senate the first time. It does increase the stakes in Alabama. If Jones wins, it would take only one Senator to change. Moving the AMT amount up or removing it, means that they will be over 1.5 trillion. Someone losses one of the gifts McConnell gave them. McConnell spoke of the bill as a rubix cube - looks like the solution was not really the solution. Yet as you turn to fix that column, you mess up others.

I hope this is a big enough monkey wrench!

[red dog 1]

13. I'm sure Eddie Munster & The Turtle will fix this problem before the final bill goes to Twitler

for his signature.


Meanwhile, according to Sen. kamala Harris (D-CA):

"Under this bill, 572,000 taxpayers making over $1 million a year will get $34 billion in tax cuts in a single year.
If you're a senior relying on Medicare, the tax plan puts you at risk by slashing Medicare by up to $410 billion over a decade. with more than $45 billion of those cuts hitting California.
And because Senate Republicans couldn't repeal the Affordable Care Act, they're trying to take away the health care of millions of Americans and increase the premiums for millions of Californians, by repealing the individual mandate.
Instead of playing politics with people's lives, we should be listening to the American people who have spoken loud and clear that this isn't what they want.
There is a better way to reform our tax code, one that is bipartisan, transparent, and fair for all Americans."

[dchill]

14. That, too, can be fixed behind closed doors.

[Egnever]

16. Yes but fixing it requires it to go back to the senate for another vote.

I was concerned the house would just pass the senate version which would send it straight to the criminal in chief. This will likely prevent that from happening as it makes the bill untenable even to this pack of criminals.

Awesome!

And likely not the only unintended consequence they have in there.

[Bengus81]

17. Susan Collins--what a joke...........

Ok,I want a property tax deduction but I don't care if their health care goes away. Uh hey Susan,you should have DEMANDED BOTH when holding out. One goes in,one goes out.

Nope SOLD out for some property tax promise which will probably never happen--or will be watered down to nothing.

[Justice]

18. Susan Collins is wrong to claim 3 economists say tax cuts will pay for themselves

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2017/12/04/susan-collins-is-wrong-that-the-tax-cuts-will-pay-for-themselves-despite-the-economists-she-cites/?utm_term=.1b9cd1a1e130

"If they believe as we do, as all the members of a nonpartisan panel of distinguished economists assembled by the University of Chicago, as Holtz-Eakin asserted earlier this year, and Hubbard asserted some time ago, that tax cuts do not come close to paying for themselves, this seems essential to clarify."