Sen. Murray: GOP Tax Cut Plan is More of the Same – A Gift to the Wealthiest Americans and the Biggest Corporations

Sen. Murray: “I am confident families in Washington state and across the country will stand up, make their voices heard, and force Republicans to work with Democrats on a plan that truly puts working families and the middle class first.”

(Washington, D.C.) –  Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) released a statement on a newly-released Republican tax cut plan.

“The tax cut plan President Trump and the Republicans unveiled today is another example of their broken promise to put working families first. President Trump is merely paying lip service to the middle class while pushing yet another high-priced giveaway to millionaires, billionaires, and the biggest corporations. What’s worse is he’s trying to sell this plan with the same old tired line – that somehow tax cuts at the top will trickle down to everyone else. Republicans may hope no one is paying attention to this debate, but just like the GOP’s efforts to jam through Trumpcare, I am confident families in Washington state and across the country will stand up, make their voices heard, and force Republicans to work with Democrats on a plan that truly puts working families and the middle class first.”

Sen. Murray is also particularly focused on making sure any new tax plan doesn’t penalize taxpayers in Washington state by eliminating the state and local tax deduction, also known as SALT. This sales tax deduction is critical to Washington state where an estimated 1.3 million households used the state sales tax deduction in 2015, reducing their taxable income by $7.65 billion. In 2015, Sen. Murray helped secure a permanent extension of the state sales tax deduction to ensure tax fairness and eliminate uncertainty for Washingtonians. She will fight any effort to roll back the state and local tax deduction.

Sen. Murray and other Democrats sent President Trump and Senate Republicans a letter in July, urging them to agree to three simple principles for tax reform:

• Tax reform should not increase the tax burden on the middle class

• Tax reform should go through regular order, and not a fast-track process such as budget reconciliation

• Tax reform should be focused on providing a revenue base that meets the needs of our country, and should not endanger programs like Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security and other public investments