House Passes GOP Tax Reform Bill

Rep. John Yarmuth, D-Ky., ranking member of the House Budget Committee, said the House GOP tax bill "will provide massive tax breaks to millionaires and corporations paid for on the backs of middle-class families."

House Republicans, Yarmouth said, "just approved the Great Tax Scam of 2017. Their plan will increase taxes for 36 million middle-class families, shower massive tax cuts on the wealthy and large corporations, and increase our deficits by $1.5 trillion."

Now the bill heads to the Senate, Yarmouth continued, "where Republicans plan to add a provision sabotaging the Affordable Care Act and leaving 13 million more Americans uninsured. This isn't tax reform — it's an attack on the health and financial security of the American people. Democrats will continue to fight for its defeat."

Besides repealing the Alternative Minimum Tax, doubling the estate tax exemption and repealing it after seven years and lowering the corporate tax rate to 20%, the House GOP tax plan includes the following:

• Condenses individual tax barckets to 12%, 25%, 35% and 39.6%.
• Significantly increases the standard deduction from $6,350 to $12,000 for individuals and from $12,700 to $24,000 for married couples.
• Establishes a new Family Credit – which includes expanding the Child Tax Credit from $1,000 to $1,600, and provides a credit of $300 for each parent and non-child dependent.
• Preserves the home mortgage interest deduction for existing mortgages and maintains the home mortgage interest deduction for new mortgages up to $500,000.
• Preserves the ability to write off the cost of state and local property taxes up to $10,000.
• Retains retirement savings options such as 401(k)s and IRAs.
• Doubles the estate tax exemption and repeals after seven years. 

— Check out Tax Bill Could Be Doomed in Senate Thanks to ACA Mandate Repeal: Valliere on ThinkAdvisor.