Regardless of whether you see Donald Trump’s tax returns as evidence of tax cheating and fraud or as financial wizardry (that is, sleight of hand) in capitalizing on (or fabricating) loopholes so he can pay zero or $750 tax on millions of dollars in income (hello!), Trump is the poster child for the need for tax reform. That is, a fairer (not flatter) tax code and a just, efficient tax collection system.
And yet Kevin McCarthy said his first act as speaker of the House would be to repeal the $80 billion funding for the 80,000 IRS agents. Second is to go after Medicare and Social Security under the aegis of reducing the national debt and mandating spending “within means.”
But those IRS agents are necessary to recover the estimated $1 trillion in unpaid taxes each year by the top 1%. It’s so much easier to go after the tips earned by waiters and let billionaires skate away paying an average of 8%, half the rate that firemen and teachers pay. Let’s see, $80 billion in spending over 10years to recover $1 trillion a year seems like a pretty good ROI.
As for Social Security, the better solution is to raise the cap from $147,000 in order to adequately fund it and preserve this lifeline for millions of retirees. If the cap were raised or even eliminated, then not only would Social Security be adequately funded, but the rate could actually be lowered for everyone.
Republicans, who had no complaint with the national debt when Trump exploded it by $7.4 trillion…
