Wendy Sherman: “Now, Mr. Speaker I would like to move on to a second speech, one dealing with the tax proposal of the Trump…”

“Now, Mr. Speaker I would like to move on to a second speech, one dealing with the tax proposal of the Trump administration. The provisions I would like to focus on chiefly are those involving taking away the deductions, the itemized deductions that so many Americans take to reduce their tax liability. Now, these deductions are eliminated on the theory that, oh, they just go to the wealthy, and, for those purposes, they define the wealthy as the wealthiest 30 percent or so of the American people--say a family with an income of $100,000 or $150,000. We are told that is the same thing as increasing taxes on the top one-tenth of 1 percent, say a family with an income of $1 million or $2 million a year. There is a difference in the ability to pay of those two typical families, typifying their income brackets. The fact is, that taxing hardworking families with incomes of $100,000 or $150,000, in order to provide reduced tax rates for those with incomes of $1 million or $2 million, makes our tax system more regressive. You cannot put the entire top 30 percent in one category for these income calculations. That is why, and that is only one reason why, I oppose the elimination of the home mortgage deduction. Another reason that I oppose it is elimination of the home mortgage deduction and reduction for local property taxes will probably decrease the value of homes by 20 percent, is the best estimate I have seen.…”