Donald Trump unveils his tax reform plan

  As America’s Watchtower reported would happen on Monday, Donald Trump released his tax reform plan today. On first glance, after sifting through articles on this proposal, there appears to be both good and bad in this proposal.

  I apologize for this post not having any real structure, I just threw a few thoughts together because I have not had enough time at this point to go through the details and I am going on the talking points most articles seem to be repeating.

  Here is some of what we know at this point:

The plan sets out three tax brackets for individuals — 12 percent, 25 percent and 35 percent, down from the existing seven rates, which top out at 39.6 percent. But that’s not firmly set, as congressional tax-writing committees will be given flexibility to add a fourth rate for the highest earners — an effort to prevent the overhaul from providing too much of a benefit for the wealthy.

  I like the idea of cutting down the tax brackets, although I would prefer one tax bracket–a flat tax on all income without loopholes to let people hide money–but the lowest tax bracket could be a problem because it is actually a 2% increase on the lowest wage earners. I have to believe when all is said and done the lowest tax bracket will remain the same.

  Democrats will not like the idea of cutting the top wage earners’ taxes but, as the block quote above states, there is “flexibility” to add a fourth bracket for the richest Americans and there is talk this will be a surcharge of some type on the wealthiest of the wealthy. And Democrats will not like this:

The rate on corporations would be set at 20 percent, down from the current 35 percent, and businesses would be allowed to immediately write off their capital spending for at least five years. Pass-through businesses would have their tax rate capped at 25 percent.

There is also this:

At the same time, though, the tax plan calls for repealing the alternative minimum tax, the estate tax and the generation-skipping estate tax, all of which would be a boon for higher earners and the wealthy.

  And the state and local tax deduction would be abolished. From what I can tell this would mean property taxes would no longer be deductible. Coming from a state with high property taxes I am not sure I approve of this. But with the standard deduction doubling to $24,000, and with the possibility of a lower tax rate, it might be beneficial for middle class taxpayers to take the standard deduction instead of itemizing deductions. This could be a win for the middle class but honestly I have not looked at the numbers yet. 

  It is going to be interesting to see how this plays out in the coming days and weeks, and it will be interesting to see what the final draft looks like. 

malo periculosam libertatem quam quietum servitium