House Speaker Paul Ryan and Donald Trump may disagree on some issues, but they are united when it comes to giving huge tax breaks to the wealthy and big corporations. So Ryan’s tax plan, due out June 24, will probably closely resemble that of the presumptive Republican presidential candidate, as detailed in the chart on the next page. But while Ryan and Trump may both support regressive tax policies, the American people strongly oppose them.
Both the Ryan and Trump tax plans will:
- Slash income tax rates for corporations and the wealthy.
- Likely give each member of our nation’s richest one-tenth of 1% a tax cut of more than $1 million each year.
- Give a huge tax break to multinational corporations that have $2.4 trillion in untaxed profits stashed offshore, allowing them to pay just a fraction of the $700 billion in U.S. taxes they actually owe.
- Repeal the estate tax, which is designed to raise needed revenue and limit the accumulation of inherited fortunes at a time of growing wealth inequality.
- Lose trillions of dollars in revenue needed to maintain existing critical services and to pay for new investments. Their tax giveaways will likely not be paid for by closing other tax loopholes benefitting the rich and corporations. If they are paid for at all it is likely to be through massive cuts to vital benefits and services on which working families depend.
These tax plans are not supported by the American people. According to a recent Gallup poll (April 6-10, 2016):
- 61% think upper-income people pay too little in taxes; just 15% say they pay too much.
- 67% think corporations pay too little; just 12% say they pay too much.
It’s time Congress supports what the public wants, not what wealthy donors and well-connected lobbyists can get from a rigged tax system. A strong and prosperous society is built on a foundation paid for with taxes. Raising the resources needed to invest in schools, healthcare, roads and bridges, job training, affordable housing, homeland security, national defense and a secure retirement benefits creates an economy that works for everyone.
Click here for a PDF version of this document that includes a side-by-side comparison of Ryan and Trump’s tax plan.
Click here for a side-by-side comparison of Ryan’s 2013 tax plan and Trump’s tax plan.