Letter: Read the fine print of GOP tax proposal

Monday October 2, 2017

​Editor:

Randall Newnham's Sept. 27 letter ("State House members disgrace themselves") needs to be carefully read. It makes clear the irresponsibility of the state Legislature in dealing with state costs and real income.
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President Donald Trump and Republican congressional leaders are doing exactly the same thing with the federal budget. The headline announces significant tax cuts, but even the very limited details that are given make clear that the wealthy would benefit in tax reduction while the working classes would lose deductions and benefits.

Let me give two examples: the estate tax, which affects only rich Americans, would be abolished. And the number of tax brackets would be reduced. The top bracket (wealthy) will go down 4 percent, while the bottom bracket (poor) would go up 2 percent. No one explains why the rich need a tax reduction while the poor deserve an increase.

For decades, money has been moving from the working class to the rich. How can it be that half the voters in the country elect again and again a government that benefits the upper 10 percent or fewer?

More of us need to read the fine print in the plan. We need to learn and then remember when the next election comes around.

James D. Boyer
Mount Penn
Read the fine print of GOP tax proposal