Tag Archives: taxes

Trump Tax “Hoax” Would Blow $5 Trillion Hole In Budget Over Next Decade: Analysis

‘The idea that this plan would help average Americans instead of the wealthy and big corporations has been a hoax all along.’

Mick Mulvaney press conference about President Donald Trump’s budget plan. Screenshot: YouTube

By Jon Queally, staff writer for Common Dreams. Published 9-26-2017

Trumpcare may be dead again (for a while at least) on Tuesday, but Republicans now want to get serious about what they call “tax reform,” but which critics are resolute in saying is just a major push to give the nation’s corporation and wealthiest individuals another massive giveaway they don’t need and certainly don’t deserve.

A day ahead of the Trump administration’s scheduled release of what it says will be a “detailed” tax plan, progressive policy groups are again warning the American people not to be fooled by rhetoric as they highlight estimates showing the likely proposal will cost the government trillions of dollars in revenue over the next decade and lead the way towards massive cuts in key social programs that help insulate low-income and working Americans from an economy already “rigged” in favor of the wealthy and powerful. Continue reading →

Corporations Complain Their Taxes So High, But New Study Busts That Myth

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Minimum-wage workers can’t afford to rent a one-bedroom apartment, but the GOP thinks it’s massive corporations that need an income boost

By ake Johnson, staff writer for Common Dreams. Published 8-11-2017

According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, corporate profits are “near all-time highs.” Wages for most workers, meanwhile, have been stagnant for decades. (Photo: Jason Hargrove/Flickr/cc)

Corporate profits are up. Wages remain low. And, as always, the richest are angling for ever-lower tax rates.

Only 0.1 percent of full-time workers earning the minimum wage can afford to rent a one-bedroom apartment in any state in the U.S., but judging by their tax agenda, the Republican Party and President Donald Trump appear to feel it is massive corporations and billionaires—not American workers—who need an income boost. Continue reading →

US Inequality Crisis Worst in Industrialized World. Trump Will Make It Worse.

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If the policies favored by the Trump administration—including massive tax cuts for the rich and reductions in spending on Medicaid and education—go into effect, the U.S. will only fall further in the global rankings

By Jake Johnson, staff writer for Common Dreams. Published 7-17-2017

“Policymaking processes dominated by elites undermine democracy,” Max Lawson and Matthew Martin write. (Photo: Dean Chahim/Flickr/cc)

The United States is already the most unequal industrialized nation in the world, and a new report published on Monday shows that President Donald Trump’s agenda would only make matters worse.

“The Commitment to Reducing Inequality Index,” developed by Oxfam in partnership with Development Finance International (DFI), uses several factors to “measure the commitment of governments to reducing the gap between the rich and the poor.”

Compared to other wealthy nations, the report concludes, the U.S. is doing “very badly” in the fight against income and wealth inequality. Continue reading →

In Major Tax Speech, Paul Ryan Lays Out Plan to Lavish Rich With Tax Cuts

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“Paul Ryan is not serious about tax reform. He’s serious about tax giveaways—for millionaires, billionaires, and wealthy corporations.”

By Jake Johnson, staff writer for Common Dreams. Published 6-20-2017

Photo: YouTube

After spending months selling a healthcare plan that proposed kicking millions off their insurance and gutting crucial safety net programs, House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) has now shifted his focus to tax reform, where he hopes to provide significant tax relief to the wealthiest Americans.

On Tuesday, after weeks of failing to offer any details on his ambitious plan to permanently overhaul the tax code, Ryan made his first major pitch to the National Association of Manufacturers—a business advocacy group that has in the past received funding from the Koch brothers. Continue reading →

To Ram Through Unpopular Agenda, Trump Urges GOP to Kill Senate Filibuster

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Though his proposals have found slim support among the American people, president wants GOP allies to push items through “fast and easy”

By Common Dreams. Published 5-30-2017

Photo: Human Rights Foundation

President Donald Trump indicated to Republicans on Tuesday that they should ignore widespread voter disapproval of his agenda as he urged them to once again jettison filibuster rules in the U.S. Senate in order to ram through a bill that would strip health coverage from an estimated 23 million people over the next decade and pass massive tax cuts for the nation’s wealthiest individuals and corporations.

“The U.S. Senate should switch to 51 votes, immediately, and get Healthcare and TAX CUTS approved, fast and easy. Dems would do it, no doubt!” the president tweeted Tuesday morning. Continue reading →

‘Truly Dumb’: Why $2.4 Trillion Corporate Tax Cut Will Not Magically Pay for Itself

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Economists and tax experts push back against White House reported plan to slash corporate rate by 60 percent

By Jon Queally, staff writer for Common Dreams. Published 4-25-2017

“Not to put too fine a point on it, this is false” writes Jared Bernstein in response to claims by Trump’s Treasury Secretary claims that $2.4 trillion corporate tax cut will magically pay for itself. (Photo: Timothy Krause/cc/flickr)

With reports that President Donald Trump wants to slash the corporate tax rate by 60 percent and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin claiming widespread cuts for the nation’s wealthy and powerful will magically pay for themselves, progressive economists and tax experts are issuing early warnings that this is simply the latest attempt by Republicans to pull the wool over the eyes of average American taxpayers.

With more details expected during an offical White House announcement on Wednesday, numerous outlets have already reported that Trump will tout cutting the corporate tax rate from its current 35 percent down to an even more paltry 15 percent. As is well known and repeatedly documented, even the 35 percent official rate is largely a mythical number that few U.S. corporations actually pay. Continue reading →

As Push for Trump’s Taxes Gains Steam, Promised GOP Tax Overhaul Falters

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“If [Trump] doesn’t release his returns, it is going to make it much more difficult to get tax reform done”

By Nika Knight, staff writer for Common Dreams. Published 4-18-2017

Demonstrators at the Tax March on April 15 in New York City. (Photo: Michael Kink/Twitter)

As millions of Americans file their tax returns, and days after tens of thousands of marched to demand that President Donald Trump make his tax returns public, the president is still refusing to release his returns.

On Monday, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer reiterated the claim that Trump can’t release his taxes because they are under audit, a statement immediately refuted by tax experts. Continue reading →

European Groups Expose ‘Terrifying Extent of Corporate Grab’ Within TTIP

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‘The ability to enact effective and fair tax systems to finance vital public services is one of the defining features of sovereignty,’ says Global Justice Now—one that is threatened by corporate trade deals

By Deirdre Fulton, staff writer for Common Dreams. Published 2-15-2016

Mexico has been successfully sued by a consortium of U.S.-based agribusiness giants, after introducing a new tax on the sales of soft drinks containing high-fructose corn syrup in an effort to counter the obesity epidemic. (Photo: Hernán García Crespo/flickr/cc)

Even with global inequality at historic highs and corporate tax evasion in the public spotlight, a new report out Monday shows how a so-called free trade deal between the U.S. and European Union could further threaten tax justice, hampering governments’ ability to ensure that critical public services are well funded or to pursue progressive tax practices.

According to the London-based Global Justice Now and the Netherlands-headquartered Transnational Institute, the TransAtlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) “would massively increase the ability of corporations to sue member states of the EU over measures such as windfall taxes on exceptional profits, or use of taxation as a policy instrument such as a possible ‘sugar tax’.” Continue reading →

Cutting To The Chase

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In case you haven’t noticed, our government is broken. Not too many years ago, a bill dealing with veterans would pass with broad bipartisan support. Extending SNAP and unemployment benefits in a soft job market and economic recovery would be a given. Expanding infrastructure spending might stimulate some debate, but in the end would be recognized as a necessity. Something such as the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) would be reauthorized without any real opposition from either side.

But, due to the hyperpartisanship in Washington and the hijacking of one of the main parties by people and ideas that were considered fringe elements as recently as thirty five years ago, what would be considered safe bills are nothing of the sort now. We see what would formerly be considered essential legislation either die in committee, or be loaded up with controversial amendments that more often or not have nothing to do with what the original legislation was about. Wouldn’t it be nice if there was some way to strip the garbage out of a bill after it goes through Congress?

President Clinton signing the Line Item Veto Act. Photo via YouTube

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Report Reveals How Corporate Tax Dodgers Avoid Paying Their Fair Share—or Any Share At All

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Bernie Sanders declares: ‘At a time when we have massive wealth and income inequality, and when corporate profits are soaring, it is an outrage that many large, profitable corporations paid nothing in federal income taxes last year.’

Among its findings, Citizens for Tax Justice reveals that not only did media giant Time Warner pay nothing in federal income taxes last year, it received a rebate of $26 million from the IRS even though it made $4.3 billion in U.S. profits. (Photo: Zhu/flickr/cc)

Written by Deirdre Fulton, staff writer for Common Dreams. Published April 10, 2015.

Pointing to egregious examples of Fortune 500 corporations “manipulating the tax system to avoid paying even a dime in tax on billions of dollars in U.S. profits,” a new report from Citizens for Tax Justice makes a sharp case for corporate tax reform.

The 15 companies cited in the CTJ analysis represent a range of sectors within the U.S. economy, from toy maker Mattel to financial services corporation Prudential to broadcaster CBS to media giant Time Warner.

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The Movement Continues – Globally

Tag Archives: taxes

European Groups Expose ‘Terrifying Extent of Corporate Grab’ Within TTIP

‘The ability to enact effective and fair tax systems to finance vital public services is one of the defining features of sovereignty,’ says Global Justice Now—one that is threatened by corporate trade deals

Cutting To The Chase

Report Reveals How Corporate Tax Dodgers Avoid Paying Their Fair Share—or Any Share At All

Bernie Sanders declares: ‘At a time when we have massive wealth and income inequality, and when corporate profits are soaring, it is an outrage that many large, profitable corporations paid nothing in federal income taxes last year.’