On the recordNovember 30, 2017
Mr. President, this bill, as Senator Merkley has pointed out, is really a bait and switch. How? Under this bill, millions of middle-class Americans would end up paying more in taxes in the long run. It is a bait and switch: Get a little reduction, a few crumbs in your stocking in the short term, but in the long run, many of the tax cuts they receive, if they receive a tax cut at all, would only be temporary. In 10 years, most Americans earning $75,000 or less would pay more in taxes, while people earning more than $100,000 a year would continue to pay less. According to an analysis by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, 644,000 Minnesotans with incomes below $153,800 would see a tax hike in 2027. Yes, that is almost 650,000 Minnesotans who would see a tax hike if they make below about $153,000. I want to highlight again what Senator Merkley already discussed with the elimination of the State and the local tax deduction. Many middle- class families rely on these. In my State, we have both an income tax and State property taxes. Over 900,000 households claim the State and local income tax deduction, and over 850,000 claim the property tax deduction. We have a lot of homeowners in Minnesota. Both of these deductions are important for our middle-class Minnesota families. We want people to own homes. We want to make it easier for middle-class people to own homes.…





