By Jason Smith, member of Congress
On August 16, I brought the Ways and Means Committee to the Iowa State Fair to hear from hard-working Midwesterners about the positive impact the 2017 Trump Tax Cuts had on them. This was part of an ongoing effort to hear firsthand from America’s workers, families, farmers, and small businesses so that we can craft the best policies and prevent the Washington Democrats’ plan that would hit Americans with a $7 trillion tax hike – the largest in U.S. history.
It was one of the many hearings Congress’s chief tax writing committee, which I chair, has held far beyond Washington to let the American people in communities across this country – not lobbyists or think tank academics – shape tax policies that impact their lives every single day. At each of these hearings, working Americans have made it clear that the Trump Tax Cuts’ pro-growth, pro-family, pro-worker, and pro-small business policies were incredibly successful.
Thanks to the Trump Tax Cuts, we had a booming economy with historic growth and record unemployment. Americans making less than $100,000 got on average a 16 percent cut in their tax bill, while the top 1 percent actually saw their share of taxes go up. Workers in the bottom 10 percent of earners saw 50 percent faster wage growth than people in the highest 10 percent. The facts are clear: the Trump Tax Cuts were a major win for working-class Americans and small businesses – including our nation’s family farmers.
What the American people need right now is for Congress to once again deliver pro-growth, pro-worker, pro-family, pro-small business, and pro-farmer tax reform by passing legislation that builds off the success of the Trump Tax Cuts. Unfortunately, Washington Democrats have made clear that they not only want those tax cuts to expire, but they also want to hit Americans with trillions of more dollars in new taxes.
If the Trump Tax Cuts expire, a family of four earning $75,000 would see their taxes increase by $1,500 a year. A family of five with two earners making around $100,000 would see a tax increase of nearly $7,500 a year. The Child Tax Credit, Guaranteed Deduction, and the death tax exemption would be slashed in half. Small businesses and family farms would see their tax burden climb to 43.4 percent, making it harder to compete against larger corporations paying a 21 percent tax rate.
Just think about all the taxes you pay every day. You pay property tax on your house. You pay taxes on the land you own and work. Your car and the gas to fill it up or power your farm equipment is taxed. Your paycheck is taxed by Washington and then taxed again buying groceries and other basics for your family. Once you stop working, your retirement is taxed. Even after death, Uncle Sam still wants his cut, and he wants your grieving family members to pay it. This is all on top of the Biden-Harris Administration’s inflation tax, which has driven up prices by over 20 percent since they took office. The last thing working-class Americans need is an unprecedented $7 trillion tax hike.
You would hope that after Washington Democrats sent our economy into turmoil by going on a $10 trillion tax and spending spree, they would do the right thing and work with Republicans to protect working-class Americans from a crushing tax hike. Sadly, that’s not the case. Washington Democrats’ plan for America is higher prices and higher taxes for the little guy and more welfare for the wealthy and well-connected. It is unacceptable that they view working families as an ATM to fund their next big government spending priority.
As Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, I will continue working around the clock to stop the $7 trillion Biden-Harris tax hike. And I will do everything I can to advance tax relief that Americans desperately need in today’s painful economy.