The new tax bill is likely to be signed into law by the end of December. Happy holidays, everyone!
There’s one person who will get a significant holiday gift, and that’s the president. The new tax law will change two taxes that have been costing him and other wealthy people a lot of money.
How big a gift can be seen by looking at two pages of the president’s 2005 tax return, released last March by a journalist -- not the president.
The new bill reduces the pass-through tax owed by many small and large businesses, including the president’s real-estate business. In 2005, this tax cost him close to $70 million. This will go way down with the new bill, which cuts the rate by about half.
Then there’s the alternative minimum tax, gone in the new law. Currently, it is paid by those who claim so many deductions that their declared tax is below the amount the IRS considers reasonable for their income.
The 2005 return shows that the president made more than $150 million that year. He declared a federal income tax of $5.3 million — a rate of less than 4 percent. The alternative minimum tax bumped his total tax bill to just over 36 million dollars.
The Republicans and the president are lying when they say this bill will not help the rich. That’s not all they’re lying about. It’s been rushed to a vote because they don’t want us to know how many will be hurt.
I’m Deborah Booth, and that’s my perspective.
