Tax Reform2018-12-18T15:37:01-05:00

‘Tax Cuts and Jobs Act’

Real tax reform should be bipartisan and deficit neutral. This bill fails on both fronts. 

The last time Congress passed comprehensive tax reform was more than 30 years ago, in 1986.

Since that time, the tax code has gotten less fair, more complex, and riddled with politically driven special interest preferences.  One of the few points of real agreement in Washington is that the tax code is broken and needs to be fixed.

But the ‘Tax Cuts and Jobs Act‘ does not fix or reform the tax code.

It increases the deficit, is riddled with gimmicks to mask the true cost, and perpetuates the toxic practice of pretending that certain tax cuts are temporary.

There is only one fix to this bill that makes sense for taxpayers: Throw it out and start from scratch through regular order.

— Ryan Alexander, president of TCS

At Taxpayers for Common Sense, we believe that tax reform must be bipartisan and must be paid for.

The current bill fails on the following important fronts:

  • Adds $1.5 Trillion to the deficit
  • Is being pushed through without time for public review or input from Senators who represent a majority of the country.
  • This is a debt financed tax cut – no serious effort to pay for it with credible offsets.
  • Full of gimmicks and timing tricks to make it look like it increases the deficit less than it does.
  • Invites the rent seeking practice of tax extenders by failing to make the difficult trade offs that would allow the changes to be permanent.

Need to know the specifics on the Tax Cuts & Jobs Act?  Here’s a timeline of our analyses on the subject.

September 23, 2016

Learning Lessons from Tax Reform

October 7, 2016

The Trump Tax Return Lesson

October 21, 2016

Tax Reform Turns 30

February 23, 2017

How Republicans Should Approach Revenue Neutrality for Real Tax Reform

April 12, 2017

Tax Reform Must Be Bipartisan

April 14, 2017

Congress Must Reform the Broken Tax Code

May 17, 2017

Tough Choices on Tax Reform

August 3, 2017

Take the Hard Route on Tax Reform

September 27, 2017

Statement Regarding the ‘Unified Framework For Fixing Our Broken Tax Code’

September 29, 2017

Tax Cuts Are Easy, Tax Reform Is Hard

October 11, 2017

Congress Needs to Wait for CBO’s Tax Score to Move on Reform

October 27, 2017

4 Values for Tax Reform

November 2, 2017

Statement and Analysis of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act

November 3, 2017

Blowing a Hole in the Budget

November 9, 2017

Tax Package Sausage

November 17, 2017

Senate Tax Fiasco

Tax Reform Tricks

November 28, 2017

We Need Real Tax Reform

November 29, 2017

Throw Out the Senate’s Tax Bill

November 30, 2017

Tax Package Would Reduce Federal Tax Revenue by $1.5 Trillion

Contact Your Member of Congress and Tell Them You Do Not Support the Tax Bill

December 1, 2017

Wrong Way on Tax

December 2, 2017

Statement On Senate Tax Package

December 4, 2017

Tax Extenders are Ruining the GOP Tax Plan

December 7, 2017

Understanding the National Debt and the Debt Ceiling

December 8, 2017

Tax Extenders, The Opposite of Tax Reform

Congress Must Make Hard Economic Choices on Tax Bill, Debt Ceiling and More

December 12, 2017

A One-Page “Analysis” of the Tax Bill?

December 14, 2017

Oppose the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act – We Need Reform, Not More Debt

The Conference Committee Needs To Slow Down

December 15, 2017

The Tax Bill, Now With More Gimmicks

International Tax Gimmicks

Hit the Brakes on Tax Reform

December 18, 2017

Energy Provisions in the Tax Bill (Updated)

December 19, 2017

Congress’ Tax Bill Gives Special Interests Last-Minute Gifts

Real Estate Gift In Tax Bill

Vote No on Tax Bill: We Can’t Afford $1 Trillion in Debt

Billions in Energy Tax Subsidies Left on the Books

December 20, 2017

The Disaster Supplemental – A Classic Case Of “Haste Makes Waste”

TCS Statement On Passage Of The Tax Bill

December 21, 2017

Disaster Supplemental Must Do Better by Taxpayers

The Tax Extender Act of 2017 – Driving Us To Drink

December 28, 2017

The New Tax Landscape’s Unsurprising “Surprises”

August 10, 2018

Tax Deja Vu All Over Again

November 20, 2018

A Cornucopia Of Thanks, and a Parade of Turkeys

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