GOP Senate Tax Plan Raises Taxes on Working Families, Gives Massive Tax Cuts to Corporations and Wealthy

Following Senate passage of the Republican tax bill, Executive Director Benjamin Orr of the Maryland Center on Economic Policy released the following statement:

“Both the Senate and House tax bills are costly new giveaways to the very wealthy and major corporations at the expense of working families, including hundreds of thousands of low- and middle-income Marylanders who actually would face a tax increase. Sens. Cardin and Van Hollen did the right thing for our state when they voted against this dangerous tax bill, and we call on our House delegation to continue to stand with their constituents and reject the final tax bill.

“Both tax bills would explode deficits and almost certainly force cuts to everything from nutrition assistance for families to education, Medicare and Medicaid, and infrastructure. The Senate bill goes further, increasing the number of uninsured people by 13 million to pay for even larger corporate tax cuts. Both bills also eliminate the state and local income and sales tax deduction, which would only make matters worse by increasing pressure on Maryland’s budget, likely causing even more cuts to schools, roads, and other programs and services that help Marylanders get by.

“Small changes won’t fix the bills’ fundamental flaws. And the merged tax bill that comes out of a conference committee will be more of the same – offering nothing to most working families and ultimately hurting many. Instead of tax cuts that help those who need it the least, Congress should work to advance tax policies that invest in working families while ensuring that any tax bill is paid for by closing tax loopholes or other responsible tax changes.”

Additional background on how the tax bill will affect Marylanders is available on MDCEP’s blog.