Harry Stein: Stop cutting taxes for corporations and the wealthy

  President Donald Trump and House Republicans have championed massive tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations. They will likely try to enact these giveaways into law as part of what they call tax reform, as well as through other measures such as repeal of the Affordable Care Act and infrastructure legislation. While tax policy offers many complicated questions, one thing should be clear: The wealthiest Americans and big corporations do not need any more tax cuts.

  Anyone can clearly see whether proposed legislation would cut taxes for the wealthy or corporations, thanks to high-quality, nonpartisan analysis from the independent Tax Policy Center and the legislative branch’s Joint Committee on Taxation. Trickle-down tax cuts have repeatedly failed to produce broad-based economic growth. A significant majority of Americans not only oppose such tax cuts but would support higher taxes on the wealthy and big corporations.

Congress should reassess the importance of two corporate tax breaks

  A series of tax breaks expired at the end of 2013. These tax breaks are all technically temporary, but they are extended so regularly that they are collectively known as the tax extenders. Some of these tax extenders are good policy, such as relief for foreclosure victims, support for energy efficiency and renewable energy, incentives for businesses to hire disadvantaged workers and veterans, and tax credits to revitalize economically depressed areas. Other tax extenders, however, offer fewer public benefits and primarily subsidize big multinational corporations.