(This post directly follows the previous post which asked to oppose the language effectively repealing the Johnson Amendment for houses of worship.)

Ms SANCHEZ: Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record two letters in opposition to this bill, one from SEIU and one from the AFL-CIO.

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SEIU, Washington, DC, November 6, 2017.

Hon. Kevin Brady, Chairman, House Committee on Ways & Means, Washington, DC.

Hon. Richard Neal, Ranking Member, House Committee on Ways & Means, Washington, DC.

Dear Chairman Brady, Ranking Member Neal, and Members of the House Committee on Ways & Means: On behalf of the two million members of the Service Employees International Union (“SEIU”), I write to strongly oppose H.R. 1, the misleadingly named “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.” H.R. 1 would double down on the same failed trickle down policies that have hurt working families for decades. Once again, major legislation is being drafted behind closed doors, out of the view of the American people and without any input from Democratic members of Congress.

It is unconscionable that elected representatives would mark-up and jam through a bill that significantly affects the financial security of their constituents without appropriate time for non-partisan analysis and for all Americans to properly understand the real impacts on their everyday lives. There is no need to rush legislation of this magnitude through Congress due to artificial political timelines. Instead, there should be an open process by which all stakeholders including working people and not just corporate lobbyists are able to provide input.

Although this bill pretends to benefit the middle class, the tax cuts proposed under this bill would go overwhelmingly to high-income households and large corporations. And this bill would actually raise taxes for some low- and moderate-income households, while making it harder for states to fund healthcare, education, infrastructure and other investments. History has shown us that these types of tax breaks never ‘trickle down’ to working people and will result in cuts to healthcare, education and other programs our communities depend on. If passed, this legislation would give millionaires and corporations a reason to celebrate but would hurt working Americans who are trying put food on the table, start their first businesses, send their children to college, or save for their retirement and buy homes.

For these reasons, SEIU urges you to oppose H.R. 1 and instead, work in a bi-partisan and transparent manner on policies that will improve the lives of working families. If you have any questions, please contact John Foti.

Sincerely,

John Gray, Legislative Director.

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AFL-CIO,

Washington, DC, November 14, 2017.

Dear Representative: On behalf of the AFL-CIO, I urge you to oppose the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (H.R. 1). H.R. 1 is not a “jobs bill,” it is a job killer that gives huge tax breaks to companies that outsource jobs. It is also the poster child for the failed “trickle-down” economic theory that has never worked and has repeatedly stuck working people with the tab for tax giveaways for millionaires, big corporations, and Wall Street.

The Republican leadership wants to pay for these giveaways with drastic cuts to Medicaid, Medicare, education, and other programs that working people depend on. The price tag of H.R. 1  is $1.5 trillion over 10 years, while the budget resolution includes $5 trillion in budget cuts, including $1.5 trillion from Medicaid and Medicare.

H.R 1 would waste trillions of dollars on tax breaks for people who do not need them. According to the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT), 45% of the tax benefits would ultimately go to households making over $500,000 per year; 38% of the tax benefits would go to households making over $1 million; and the top 1% one percent would get an average annual tax cut of $64,720. By contrast, households making between $20,000 and $40,000 would actually pay more in taxes.

H.R. 1 would hurt working people in many ways. It would eliminate the deduction for state and local income and sales taxes, punishing states that make the kind of investments that create good jobs and starving communities of the funding they need for education, infrastructure, and other essential public services. H.R. 1 would repeal deductions for student loan interest, tuition expenses, and tuition assistance and end tax credits for students to cover college expenses, making it harder for students and their families to afford higher education at a time when tuition prices are at an all-time high. Under this bill, corporations could still deduct their payments to lawyers to fight unions, but union members could no longer deduct union dues and educators could no longer deduct their out-of-pocket expenses.

On the corporate side, H.R. 1 would give a giant tax cut to big corporations that outsource jobs. Under this bill, a business that creates jobs on Main Street USA would pay U.S. taxes on its profits at a rate of 20%, while a big corporation that outsources those same jobs to Ireland or Switzerland would pay no U.S. taxes on the profits it earns from outsourcing. Currently, the United States taxes all profits of U.S. corporations, whether earned in the United States or in a foreign country, at the same rate of 35% (though a corporation that earns profits in a foreign country does not have to pay U.S. taxes on those earnings until it repatriates them to the United States). H.R. 1 changes this system so a U.S. corporation never pays any U.S. income taxes on the profits it earns from active operations in a foreign country (as opposed to domestic profits that the company disguises as foreign profits through the use of accounting gimmicks). Reducing the U.S. tax rate on offshore profits from 35% to 0%–basically a subsidy to companies that outsource jobs–would cost $208 billion over 10 years. Even worse, the bill would encourage foreign countries that want to attract offshore investment to lower their corporate tax rate. The more foreign countries lower their corporate tax rates to attract offshore investment, the bigger the tax subsidy for offshoring this bill will provide. The GOP tax bill creates a powerful incentive for big companies to outsource jobs, and it is an incentive that will grow over time.

With regard to past profits, the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) estimates that H.R. 1 would give multinational corporations a tax windfall of $529 billion, allowing them to get away with paying just $223 billion of the $752 billion they owe on accumulated offshore earnings. There is no economic case for discounted tax rates on profits already earned. The last time we gave companies a break on the profits they booked offshore, they used that money for executive bonuses and dividends. They did not use the money for creating new jobs, raises for workers, or investments in new factories or equipment. The top 15 companies to take advantage of the so-called “tax holiday” in 2004 laid off 20,000 workers in the subsequent two years. There is no reason to believe this time will be different. JPMorgan says, “We expect little economic effect from firms repatriating funds to the U.S.”

The AFL-CIO urges you to oppose the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (H.R. 1), which gives huge tax breaks to companies that outsource jobs and makes working people pay the price for tax giveaways to millionaires, big corporations, and Wall Street.

Sincerely,

William Samuel,

Director, Government Affairs Department.

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(Congressional Record – Tax Cuts And Jobs Act Part 1)

(Congressional Record – Tax Cuts And Jobs Act Part 2)

(Congressional Record – Tax Cuts And Jobs Act Part 3)

(Congressional Record – Tax Cuts And Jobs Act Part 4)

(Congressional Record – Tax Cuts And Jobs Act Part 5)

(Congressional Record – Tax Cuts And Jobs Act Part 6)

(Congressional Record – Tax Cuts And Jobs Act Part 7)

(Congressional Record – Tax Cuts And Jobs Act Part 8)

(Congressional Record – Tax Cuts And Jobs Act Part 9)

(Congressional Record – Tax Cuts And Jobs Act Part 10)

(Congressional Record – Tax Cuts And Jobs Act Part 11)

(Congressional Record – Tax Cuts And Jobs Act Part 12)

(Congressional Record – Tax Cuts And Jobs Act Part 13)

(Congressional Record – Tax Cuts And Jobs Act Part 14)

(Congressional Record – Tax Cuts And Jobs Act Part 15)