The Washington Outsider

The Republican Tax Reform Effort: Sound, Conservative Economic Polices or Special Interest Priorities?

10/20/2017

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Republicans have paved the way for major reforms to the US tax system without Democratic input by passing their fiscal-year 2018 Budget along partisan lines.  Although Congress sets only the 30 to 40% of the US Federal Budget that is discretionary spending through the appropriations process, it does play an oversized role in setting public policy priorities, which have huge impacts on the American People and the US Economy.  In this particular case, Republican Senators, minus Rand Paul, have chosen to hypocritically abuse the budgeting process to short-circuit legislative safeguards that ensure meaningful consensus built on minority input and abandon their own cause of fiscal responsibility.  Without any checks and balances standing in their way, the question now is what envisioned Republican tax reforms will actually mean.
 
Today, the US government has the largest budget of any other government with the biggest debt of any nation in history.  Although the US has also had the world’s largest economy for more than a century, it is one of the least taxed economies of the world.  Since the rise of “Reaganomics” under the Reagan Administration, the US has increasingly fueled an explosion of government spending with a mounting supply of the fake asset called debt.  This has enabled more affluent individuals and businesses to exchange their tax bills for IOU’s, which are to be repaid by future generations.  Instead of honestly confronting the fiscal reality of the Federal Budget, GOP tax reform priorities appear to further ease the social responsibility of affluent individuals and businesses who benefit the most from the US economy while placing a greater burden on future generations.  
The desire to simplify the tax code, including through a long overdue increase in the “standard deduction,” and lower the overall tax rates are commendable goals, but decreasing the tax brackets from seven to three has the potential to increase taxes for poor to middle class workers who face the loss of useful deductions.  Not only do the changes sought by the GOP disproportionately favor wealthier US taxpayers, the targeting of all but two tax deduction for eliminations caters to the concerns of special interests favored by President Trump.  Billionaire real-estate developer Donald Trump would retain the deduction for interest paid on mortgages.  Home ownership helps persevere family wealth, but only those who make enough to itemize their tax returns will benefit.  To boot, it also helps subsidize the cost of owning a home, so buyers are willing to pay more, thus helping inflate prices and pricing lower income families out of the housing market.  
 
The Republicans would also eliminate the tax break businesses received for providing their employees health insurance, which would imperil the health insurance of most Americans.  One can argue that this is a special interest tax break, but workers are not a special interest group.  They are the American People.  One could also argue government should not exert undue influence over businesses and communities.  Government does, however, represent the American People and manages the affairs of the governed community, so government is charged with promoting pro-social behavior.  Marriage, for example, is a pro-osocial behavior, because it strengthens family and social cohesion, thus government should not inadvertently penalize marriage by taxing married couples at a higher rate than if they were two single people, i.e. the so-called marriage penalty.  
 
This is also why the charitable deduction, which Trump wants to preserve, is a legitimate tax deduction.  What qualifies as a pro-social charitable, tax-exempt cause raises a lot of questions and opens the tax code to the influence of special interest groups, but it is a worthwhile and necessary risk.  Government must promote, not undermine, socially responsible activities and business practices.  Where there is potential abuse of the charitable deduction, the hassle of dealing with it is small in comparison to the cost of eliminating charitable deductions altogether.  Encouraging businesses to fulfill the interests of workers, including their well-being in terms of health, is also an example of the government supporting the health of individuals and communities.
 
Meanwhile, the GOP is also seeking to eliminate the ability of taxpayer to deduct their State and Local taxes, which reflects the broader priorities of certain Republican factions.  First and foremost, taxing the money paid to State and Local governments is a blatant example of double taxation.  Ending the deduction would allow the Federal government to raise a great deal more money to offset tax reform, but it would also put pressure on State and Local governments to either freeze or decrease their tax rates.  It would, in turn, encourage lobbying in State and Local governments where transparency is generally more lax and lobbying is far more pervasive.  Given Republicans allegedly favor State and Local control over Federal, this assault on the ability of State and Local government to conduct business contradicts their expressed values.
The proposed changes would encourage and force States to rely more on sales taxes and fees, which are highly regressive ways of taxing, forms of double taxation, and easily evaded by national businesses and highly mobile, more affluent individuals.  In other words, this policy preference caters to those businesses and individuals that have enough money to avoid paying taxes and will do it at all costs.  Ending the deductions for State and Local taxes paid would allow for overall rate cuts, but it would also institute a “starve-the-beast” approach at the State and Local level.  Quite frankly, taxes are a necessity for proper governance.  The consequence of not taxing is debt and/or a collapse of proper governance.  
 
Because local State government provide the greatest amount of representation, State and Local government can be more responsive to the needs of the governed.  It is, therefore, the responsibility of the Federal government to support State and Local governments instead of undermining the authority and power of State and Local governments.  Eliminating the ability of taxpayers to deduct their State and Local tax payments from their federal bill undermines the power of State and Local governance.  It also reveals the loyalty of proponents to businesses and affluent individual over proper governance and the American People.  The burden, versus cost, of proper governance should be spread eventually among taxpayers, not just those who cannot avoid paying taxes.
 
Furthermore, the US tax code has become a mechanism to redistribute the wealth of the Nation.  Tax credits for families and corporations amounting to more than what they pay into the system are overt examples of redistribution.  Raising the “Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit” as a sweeter may help the GOP garner public support for their priorities, but it is a form of wealth redistribution that subsidizes low wages and adds to the Deficit.  Military and other government spending has, of course, always uplifted select communities.  How government spending is paid for, however, determines the distorting effects the US government has on the US economy.  Republican proposals that encourage degenerative wealth redistribution and economic distortions are the kinds of policies that fiscally reasonably conservatives, who detest government interference in the free markets, should be against.
 
Absent a progressive tax code, which evenly distributes the burden, versus cost, of government, the tax code would place an enormous burden on those who cannot afford, which hinders their ability to improve their economic standing and later take on more of the burden, while easing the burden of those who can afford it better, which allows them an greater competitive economic advantage.   That said, Republicans hope to lower the US corporate tax rate to 20% from the current 35%.  Required to pay the highest corporate tax rate in the world when they repatriate their overseas profits, corporations face a perverse incentive that explains why US-based companies keep more than $2 trillion in profits overseas while other corporations feel compelled to change their citizenship through so-called corporate inversions.  
 
Effective US corporate tax rates are, however, in the single digits, which are on par with most US trade partners.  The advantage of a low tax rate, versus the use of tax breaks to reduce a high rate, is that corporations are better able to predict their annual tax burden, which fosters economic stability.  What Republicans want to do is lower the corporate and switch to a territorial tax system where businesses simply pay taxes on what they earn at home.  When advanced economies like Japan and the United Kingdom switched to a hybrid territorial tax system, they gained a competitive advantage over other countries.  With the territorial tax system becoming a norm around the world, they started to lose some of that advantage.  If the US switches to a territorial tax system as the world’s largest economy and competitor, however, all of that advantage will be gone.
 
In turn, suppressed taxes will simply make it easier for corporations and individuals, who have an advantage in shifting their wealth around the globe, to make more money overseas and safeguard their wealth in stable economies without paying taxes needed to that support stability.  The “free trade” craze,  includes the push for a territorial tax system and President Trump has campaigned against, creates a perverse inventive to abandon one’s domestic economy in favor of a more “competitive” environment, i.e. the lowest bidder economy, while harming businesses that cannot abandon their own ship for a cheaper one.  The only reason many economies have not suffered directly from these policies is that they have derived a competitive advantage.  Unfortunately, the liberalization of domestic tax codes does not create a level playing field for international taxation that, in theory, should favor healthy competition and innovation.
 
Before American workers paid federal income taxes, the US Government was largely funded by tariffs and other fees imposed on those looking to access the American economy.  As the world grew more complicated and expensive, the Federal government passed the Sixteenth Amendment in order to collect a "fair share" of revenue from American citizens.  Because the cost of the government is only going up, governments must increase their revenue.  As the “free trade” movement favors the elimination of tariffs, this means taxes must be increased for domestic taxpayers, which will increase the pressure for those most financially mobile to seek overseas safe havens.  The root of the problem is that policies like these do not allow for the disproportionate funding needs of governments.  Because the US economy is the largest and its military budget is also the largest, it must collect the largest amount of revenue.  
 
When countries are forced to compete by taxing less, particularly when the burden is too great for their increasingly poor citizens to bear, they cannot afford to invest in global security, which has largely been subsidized by the United States.  The developed countries under economic liberalization have seen their national debt balloon and the wealth of their citizens concentrated into the pockets of the few, which will eventually lead to crippling instability.  As such, simply imposing a territorial tax system without major reforms in the US tax code and US trade relations will only hurt the global economy in the long-run.  Maintaining the status quo will, of course, only hurt the US and the global economy in the long-run.  
 
With that in mind, one of the biggest debates among Republicans is over so-called pass-through businesses.  Pass-through businesses are essentially entities that record businesses revenue as their owner’s revenue and vice versa, thereby forcing small business owners to pay the higher individual tax rate while making clever individuals eligible for the lower corporate tax rate.  The current top rate is 39.6% for individuals and the statutory tax rate is 35% for corporations.  Many Republicans want to lower rates for small to medium-sized businesses, which create the majority of jobs in the United States.  This objective probably makes for a sound economic policy, yet others want to prevent the abuse of the lower corporate tax rate, which is an example where Republican priorities are upside.  
 
The majority of tax dollars come from the wealthy, yet their burden, i.e. the impact their tax obligations have on their standard of living and spendable income, is far less than average-income to poor Americans.  The same is true of corporations versus small businesses.  Not only do corporations face a lower tax obligation than individuals, they have an opportunity to take advantage of numerous tax-deductions that pass-through businesses do not have.  This gives corporations an unfair competitive advantage.  Because many of these deductions act as incentives, which can push corporations to invest in businesses development and higher wages, eliminating them, whether or not to lower the overall tax rate, would be counterproductive.    
 
The Republican debate should, therefore, forgo the issue of pass-through businesses and focus on individual tax rates.  Wealthy corporations should not have lower tax rates than individuals.  The US economy and US government, after all, exist to serve the interests of individuals, not machine-like, often transinternational corporations.  A higher tax burden should be placed on wealthier corporations, not individuals.  The counterargument is the double taxation faced by corporations, yet the tax on investment income derived from a corporation is no different than payroll taxes paid on income derived from a job at a corporation.  If anything, sales taxes are an example of double taxation on the earnings of all American taxpayers.   
 
If Republicans want to reform the tax code to ease the burden of taxes and simulate the economy, they need to shed their corporate-centered views on taxes.  They need to ease the burden on consumers.  They need to ease the burden on smaller businesses that create jobs and contribute to their local economies.  They need to make the benefits of corporate tax rates available to more businesses.  They also need to stop favoring wealthy corporations as doing so gives them an unfair advantage.  Taxes should not distort the economy.  Favoring corporations gives them extra income to out compete their smaller, domestic revivals, whether or not they actually contribute to local, State, and National economies.   
 
Unfortunately, Republicans likely cannot deliver a tax code that actually serves the interests of the United States nor the interests of the American People, because their views are upside.  By catering to corporate interests, Donald Trump’s envisioned tax policies seek to stimulate the economy.  Although the effective corporate tax rate is already close to 15%, making it easier for corporations to avoid taxes would allegedly offer corporations more money to invest in the economy.  Business growth and development is not, however, driven by the amount of money a company has to spend.  It is a product of increased demand.  As such, consumers are the ones who need more money to spend, if corporations are to invest in growth, thus the tax reforms needs to focus solely on putting more money into the pockets of average Americans.
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      • How Honesty Relates to the Great Recession
      • Why the Middle Class and Rich Need to Support Their Long-term Interests
      • The Aristocratic Republic of the United States of America
      • Discussing the Need for Community Support
      • Why New Forms of Capitalism and Socialism Will Compliment Each Other
      • The Reason We Need to Understand What it is to Be Poor in America
      • Why the World Needs to Reinvest in America
      • Why Are We Against Terrorism?
      • Why Does Terrorism Exist?
      • US Influence: The Value of American Citizenship Around the World
      • Responding to "the Soldier as Sacrficial Victim"
    • Human Nature >
      • How comfort defines us as people >
        • Is Suicide a Cowardly Way Out?
      • Defense Against the Dark Arts of Manipulators
      • Defining Abuse >
        • On the Willing Victim of Abuse
        • How to Understand Abuse Victims
        • Recognizing Abuse
      • The Role of Substitution in Decision Making
      • Trying to Understand PTSD and Other Trauma-induced Mental Health Issues
      • Exploring Human Emotion >
        • Mental Illness is Not the Cause of Anger and Violence >
          • Trying to Understand the Boston Marathon Bombing and Other Violent Crimes
          • Getting into the Twisted Mind of the Tucson Murder
      • Describing the Mind as Modes of Thought >
        • It’s Just Sex?
      • Relationships, or Arrangement
      • Understanding the Effects of Groupthink in the Workplace
      • Relating Circular, Inductive, and Deductive Reasoning to the Scientific Method and Religion
      • What is a Redneck? Understanding Different Cultures and Thinking
    • Economics >
      • The Need for Greater Economic Leverage >
        • Evaluating NAFTA and TPP
        • Undercutting Logistics with the Underpaid Independent Contractor
        • Unions: Hindrance or Essential to Free Markets
        • Eminent Domain Used Against Banks
        • Haitians Sue the UN for Failure to Help With Cholera
        • Looking at How Corn-based Ethanol and Other Alternative Energy Subsidies Stack Up
      • Empowering the Sovereign Nation-State by Rethinking Trade Policy >
        • Irish Sovereignty Lost Before Bailout
        • Why Sudan's Greatest Long-Term Hurdle is Our Lowest-bidder Economy
        • Reduce US Imports by Buying American Made Products
      • Ending the need for government support and tackling poverty
      • Income inequality: understanding the limitations and psychology of disadvantage
      • Looking at the Future of American Jobs >
        • On Questioning the Need to Address Economic Disparity
        • Minimum Wage is Not the Problem
        • Responding to the "Blip"
        • Why Education Is Not The Civil Rights Issue Of The Twenty-First Century
      • Considering the Impact of the Capital Gains Tax Deduction
      • Embracing a Capitalist Mindset >
        • Capitalism Versus Socialism
        • The Negatives of Socialism
      • Stealing Intellectual Property
      • Changing Business Models: From Enduring Entities to Cash Cows
      • Consumer and Investor Evolution in the Great Recession of 2008-09
      • Dealing with the Issues Surrounding the Patenting of Self-replicating Technologies
      • Is Technology Threatening Jobs?
    • Education >
      • The Role of Education in Creating a More Dynamic Workforce
      • Primary Education in America and the Changing Needs of Society
      • The Greatness of the American Education System
      • Ideas for Improving the United States Education System
      • Are Teachers Treated as Professionals?
      • Is Engaging Parents in Their Children's Education a Major Factor in Turning Around Low-performing Schools?
      • Should Grants Be Awarded to School Districts that Try Innovative Methods to Improve Student Achievement?
    • US Constitution >
      • On Reading the US Constitution
      • The Senate should not do more to limit the powers of the Judicial Branch
      • On the DOJ Justifying the “targeted Killings” of US Citizens
      • Corporations Do Not Have the Same Rights as US Citizens >
        • Corporate America Pleads the First
      • Discussing the Constitutionality of Per Capita Taxes
      • Was the California Supreme Court Right in Legalizing Gay Marriage?
      • Should the Bible Continue to Be Used for Swearing-in Ceremonies and in Courtrooms?
      • Should Religious Student Clubs Be Allowed in Public Schools?
      • Should the Government Control Talk Radio to Make it More "balanced"?
      • The Second Amendment: Not Outdated >
        • Are We Losing Our Second Amendment Rights
      • Eminent Domain Used Against Banks
      • Should a Woman Have the Right to Choose Abortion? >
        • Should Fathers Be Able to Opt Out of Parenthood?
      • Should Smoking Be Allowed in Public Places?
      • Is Teen Driving a Right or a Privilege?
      • Should US Companies Be Required to Provide Equal Pay to Women and Men?
      • Is eighteen too young to vote?
      • First Amendment Rights: The Priviledge of The Press
      • Do Mandatory Seat Belt Laws Violate Individual Rights?
      • Should cell phone use be banned while driving?
      • Dealing with the link between video game violence and children's behavior
      • Should police have to submit to routine drug and alcohol testing?
      • Public schools should not impose mandatory drug testing on students
      • Are High Taxes on Cigarettes Proper?
      • Should pharmacists be required to violate their religious beliefs and dispense the "Morning After Pill?"
      • Should school counselors uphold patient privacy or report students who become unstable?
  • For the record
    • Ongoing Issues >
      • Red Dawn in Ukraine: Understanding the Actions of Russia >
        • On Russia’s Coercion of Ukraine
        • The Russian Annexation of Crimea in the Eyes of the World
        • Putin Has Overplayed His Hand With Crimea
        • Ukraine in Terms of Resovereignization
        • Avoiding a Conflict Between America and Russia Over Ukraine
        • What Drives the World’s Interest in Russia’s Actions in Ukraine
      • China’s Aggressive Pursuit of Interests Demands a Global Response
      • Iran Makes a Deal: A Start to a Long-term Diplomatic Effort to Denuclearize Iran >
        • On the Future of a Nuclear Negotiations with Iran
      • America's Sphere of Influence: Retaking South-East Asia >
        • Power in Asia: Looking at the Power Shift in Japan
        • The China Paradox: Why America is Worried About China
      • Assessing US Support of Israel >
        • Tread Softly Israel for a Heavy Step May Be Your Undoing
      • Understanding the Dysfunctional Nature of the US-Pakistani Relationship
      • Recognizing the True Threat Behind the Current Unrest in the Middle East >
        • Reacting to the Escalating Crackdown in Syria
      • Assessing the Threat of North Korea >
        • Answering North Korea's Call for Food Aid: Breaking the Vicious Cycle Forced Upon Us by a Warring Nation
        • Dealing with the Restarting of the Korean War
        • North Korea Attacks South Korea
      • Dealing with the Ill-effects of Climate Change
      • Racial Inequality and Oppression Do Truly Exist in Today's Society
      • Should energy independence be a high priority in the US?
      • An overview of world wide Human Rights violations
      • Nuclear Threat from Pakistan
      • Return of The Cold War?
    • World >
      • Coverage of FIFA World Cup is a Chance to Focus on Poverty >
        • The FIFA World Cup Offers Benefits for More Than Brazilian Soccer Fans
        • FIFA Can Bring Brazilians Together as a Nation
      • Being Prepared for Any Potential Dangers at the FIFA World Cup Games
      • Treading Softly on the Politicizing of the 2014 Sochi Olympics Over Gay Rights
      • Why NATO Operations in Libya Lack a Well-defined Mission
      • China Hijacks the Web
      • Lessons from the Great Japanese Earthquake of 2011
      • A Modernizing Cuba Offers an Opportunity for Capitalists
      • The Seeds of Democracy Take Root in the Middle East
      • The Rebirth of Democracy in Tunisia
      • What May Come from the Hurt Revolution in Libya
      • Responding to the Violence of Qaddafi and Other Besieged Leaders
      • Embracing the Rise of a Democratic Egypt
      • Protests in Afghanistan Turn Deadly for Coalition Forces and UN Personnel
      • Haiti: Another Failing Humanitarian Investment
      • What Karzai Can Learn from Calderon
      • START II: A Necessary, Easy Success that Nearly Failed
      • Why Does the U.S. Government Support Independence for the Breakaway Serb Territory of Kosovo but Oppose Independence for the Breakaway Georgian Territories of Abkhazia and South Ossetia?
      • Iraq's Electric Issues: When Human Wants Trump Economic Sense
      • The International Community Reacts to Wikileaks: We May Be Moving Toward a Third World War in Cyberspace
      • On Climate Gate
      • Assessing Obama's Afghanistan War strategy
      • 2009 Iranian Presidential Election: The Fallout
      • Resolving Sri Lankan Conflict through Free Media
      • What are the Global Consequences of Russia's Invasion of Georgia
      • The War in Iraq: an assessment of President Bush's surge strategy
      • Drug War: Actions of Venezuela, Columbia, Ecuador in terms of Resovereignization
      • Is the Iraq Refugee Crisis America's Responsibility?
      • US support for a united Kosovo, Abkhazia, and South Ossetia: why?
      • Should the US withdraw from Iraq?
      • Setting a Timetable for Troop Withdrawal from Iraq is a Terrible Mistake
      • War on Terrorism is needed
    • Law and Order >
      • Rape in the US Military
      • Ethics of Force-feeding Guantanamo Bay Detainees
      • Reacting to the Aftermath of the Tucson Massacre
    • Economy >
      • Affordability Drives Fear of Obamacare and the Individual Mandate
      • Is the Economy Built for a Job's Recovery?
      • Gutting Healthcare Reform of the Individual Mandate
      • Arizona Budget Cuts Lead to Lethal Healthcare Rationing:
      • Shameful Collection Practices of American Banks
      • The Fed Reveals it Actually Undertook an International Bailout
      • Thoughts on French Budgetary Reforms
      • Seniors Start Businesses
      • The Case for Slimming Down the US Military to Make it Better
      • Looking at the Obama Administration's New Approach to Economic Policy
      • Should the Government Regulate the Credit Card Industry?
      • The Big Three's Big Chance
      • The Unhealthy Tone of the Healthcare Reform Debate
      • Should the federal government offer a bailout for home owners?
      • Environmentalists: Do They Do More Good Than More Harm?
      • Responding to Scott Walker's Contribution to the War on Unions
    • US Government >
      • America Needs to Focus on the Impending Fiscal Crisis
      • Reacting to the Bush Era-tax Cut Extension Deal
      • Quitting the Obama Revolution: The Fickle Nature of American Politics
      • John Boehner's Circus
      • Is the Fed Putting Itself in Jeopardy?
      • Wikileaks Goes After the US State Department
      • Discussing the Political Environment Surrounding the 2011 Budget Debate
      • What the Democrats Can Do to Ensure a GOP Year in 2012
      • What the 2010 Midterm Actually Said
      • Congresswoman Kathy Dahlkemper
      • Democrats Minus Nancy Pelosi Equals Opportunity
      • Terrorists Go Postal: The Terrorism Threat Reexamined
      • Victory in the 2008 Election: Reaction to Barack Obama'a Win >
        • Expectations for Barack Obama
      • President Obama's first one hundred days
      • John McCain's Negative Campaign
      • Reasons People did not Elect John Mccain
      • History judges the George W. Bush Administration
      • Should the next US President focus on domestic issues?
      • President Bush, should he resign or be impeached
      • Should the Ban on Government Sponsored Assassinations be Repealed
    • Off Topic >
      • A Face of America’s Greatest Generation
      • A Story About a Man Who Made the World a Better Place
      • Making the World a Better Place
      • The Bipolar Ethical Nature of Google
      • Learning Computer Plays Jeopardy
      • Verifying Medicine is the Real Thing
      • Taking a Practical Step Forward in Optical Computing Using Slow Light
      • Scientists Take a Closer Look at How Lithium Batteries Work
      • Remarking on the First Blizzard of the 2010-2011 Winter Season
      • Driving in the Snow: Acceleration is the Key
      • How People in Northwest PA Are Coping with the Increasing Cost of Oil
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