Like the House’s tax proposal, the U.S. Senate plan released this week would give hundreds of billions of dollars in tax cuts to wealthy households and major corporations at the expense of low-and middle-income families.
The Senate proposal would add at least $1.5 trillion in debt – and to pay for it, Congress will almost certainly try to cut everything from nutrition assistance for struggling families to education and health care.
The Senate tax bill would allow families with annual incomes of $1 million – instead of the current income limit of $110,000 – to claim the Child Tax Credit. The Texas Congressional delegation should work to ensure that any Child Tax Credit increase specifically benefits children in low-income working families.
The Senate plan would also eliminate the current deduction for state property and sales taxes. Instead of tax cuts that help those who need it the least, the Texas Congressional delegation should work to maintain the deduction for local property taxes, which support investments in education, infrastructure and other public services that benefit all Texans.
We are expecting the full House to vote on their version of the bill this week – likely on Thursday. Meanwhile, the Senate Finance Committee will start their markup of the Senate version of the bill this week, so they can keep driving toward their goal of taking a full Senate vote after Thanksgiving.
