The GOP tax bill passed in the Senate early this morning and is expected to pass in the House today — now what?
After weeks of debate and controversy, the federal government has passed a comprehensive overhaul of the tax code. Early on December 20th, the final Republican tax bill passed in the Senate.
The bill isn’t quite ready to be declared law yet. In order to bypass Democratic attempts to filibuster the bill, the legislation was required to meet certain budget rules. In the Senate, three provisions in the final bill were ruled to violate these budget rules, so the bill will be revised and voted on again by the House.
The final House vote will take place on the morning of December 20th, and the bill is expected to pass again. After the House votes on the finalized bill, it will pass to the president to be signed into law.
What’s in the tax bill?
The final version of the bill permanently lowers the tax rate on corporations to 21 percent from 35 percent. All tax brackets will see modest tax cuts, but the individual tax cuts will expire in 2025 in order to keep the costs of the bill down. It will still increase the national deficit by about $1.5 trillion over the next decade. The legislation also removes Obamacare’s requirement that every person has health insurance. According to the Tax Policy Center, if the bill is passed, by 2027, 53 percent of Americans would pay more in taxes than they currently do. Low- and middle-income tax brackets would be the ones who see their taxes increase.
How would different income earners be affected by the #TaxCutsandJobsAct? Howard Gleckman analyzes the bill on TaxVox https://t.co/G6WA7F9LvQ #TCJA #taxbill pic.twitter.com/dT6RmIYZCQ
— Tax Policy Center (@TaxPolicyCenter) December 18, 2017
When will the tax law change?
The new tax code will take effect 12 days after it’s signed, meaning you will have to file your 2017 taxes according to new rules. The IRS will have to rewrite tax regulations in order to enforce the law. Trump has given the IRS 18 months after the January 1st to revise the tax system.
CNN has provided a calculator so you can find out how much you would owe under the new tax plan.
This calculator shows that your taxes will go up if you live in a state with higher taxes. Not one single Republican congress member from a high tax state should be reelected in 2018. They utterly failed to represent their constituents. https://t.co/fBWk3JisVm
— David O'Brien (@Dave_OB1) December 20, 2017
So what can you do now?
It’s discouraging to consider how the new tax code will negatively affect many groups, including millennial women. But there are still ways to fight back. With midterm elections in 2018, it’s more important than ever to vote for candidates and policies that you support. Changing the makeup of Congress could make it harder for Republicans to pass more legislation like the tax bill. If you are outraged at the passing of this bill, keep calling, keep protesting, and, most importantly, keep voting for what you want to see.
