Southwest Washington Congresswoman Jaime Herrera Beutler announced Wednesday that she will support House Republicans’ tax reform bill, which represents the biggest re-write of the tax code in three decades. A final vote on the sweeping plan, unveiled by GOP leaders two weeks ago, is expected Thursday morning.
Herrera Beutler had not fully committed to the legislation earlier this week, but Wednesday she did, stressing that the plan would double the standard deduction people are allowed to subtract from their income before it’s taxed.
The standard deduction would go from $6,350 to $12,000 for individuals and $12,700 to $24,000 for married couples.
“This is a good deal for Southwest Washington taxpayers,” Herrera Beutler said in a press release. “Seven out of 10 Southwest Washington taxpayers already use this ‘standard deduction’ to calculate their tax bill — and with it doubling, even more people here will use it to pay a lower, simpler tax bill, which will leave more money in their wallets.”
But the Republican-led package of deep tax cuts — which cleared a key procedural hurdle Wednesday on a party-line vote — has also come under fire from Democrats and independent tax policy groups.
The plan would cut the corporate tax rate to 20 percent — down from a top rate of 35 percent. It would also eliminate popular individual deductions for state and local taxes and medical expenses. The mortgage interest deduction would be capped at at $500,000 and the property tax deduction would be capped at $10,000.
The plan would also offer a new low rate for owners of “pass-through” businesses such as LLCs and partnerships — a provision that liberals say would benefit rich businessmen such as President Donald Trump, who still has not released his tax returns as all recent presidents have done.
The legislation would also add more than $1.4 trillion to the federal debt over 10 years, according to an analysis by the Congressional Joint Committee on Taxation.
In her statement, Herrera Beutler argued that the cuts would pay for themselves through increased economic growth. However, multiple independent studies have concluded that economic growth created by tax cuts only replaces a small share of the lost revenue.
Meanwhile, the Senate is moving forward with a tax overhaul bill that would repeal the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate requiring people to buy health insurance.
A majority of voters disapprove of the House plan, according to a Quinnipiac poll released Wednesday. Of those polled, 52 percent of respondents said they opposed the bill, while only 25 percent said they approved.
In addition, 61 percent of voters said wealthy people stand to gain the most, while just 24 percent said the middle class would mainly benefit.
Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated the House tax plan’s provisions regarding deductions for mortgage interest and property taxes.
