This week the House of Representatives is going to pass an extreme tax bill that raises taxes on the middle class to benefit millionaires. The Republican bill benefits the wealthiest Americans while increasing our deficit by $1.5 trillion and undercutting the very deductions so many middle class families in Orange County rely on.
All 4 Orange County Republicans are expected to vote yes. Here in the 39th congressional district – Ed Royce has not surprisingly been silent, but all signs point to a yes vote at the expense of our community.
The Republican tax bill is a laundry list of horribles for the middle class. According to the non-partisan Tax Policy Center, roughly 9% of middle class tax filers will pay more in taxes next year under the Republican plan. This jumps to 31% of middle class filers experiencing a tax increase by 2027.
If you own a home in Orange County, the mortgage interest deduction will be essentially eliminated. The House bill caps the mortgage interest deduction at $500,000. In the 39th district, 71% of homes are valued over $500,000.
If that home is damaged in an earthquake or wildfire, you will no longer be able to deduct your loss. In a year of unprecedented natural disasters due to climate change, this is reckless.
If you deduct medical expenses to mitigate, diagnose or treat an illness, you will no longer be able deduct those medical expenses under the Republican plan.
If you are a teacher who wants to invest in your students, you will no longer be able to deduct the cost of supplies.
If you are a college graduate, you will no longer have a student loan interest deduction.
Even worse, if your employer seeks to pay for you to receive training or additional education, you will no longer be able deduct this training and the benefit is treated as taxable income.
Leave it to House Republicans to penalize education.
But things get worse for parents. Right now, an employer may pay directly or reimburse up to $5,000 for an employee’s child care expenses without the child care benefit being treated as income. This benefit to help parents pay for child care will be eliminated by Republicans.
To top it off, 37% of tax filers in the 39th Congressional district claim the state and local tax deduction. 87% of these families earn less than $200,000. Ed Royce will be voting to remove this deduction, which, on average, is $4,000.
Elimination of the state and local tax deduction is a new low. Californians already do not receive our fair share back from the federal government. Eliminating this deduction penalizes California for being the world’s 6th largest economy. No California elected official should stand for this.
The Republican tax plan is an unprecedented assault on the middle class. Never has there been such a brazen attempt to redistribute wealth from the middle class to pay for tax breaks for millionaires.
More importantly, never have we seen elected representatives – like Ed Royce – so clearly break from the district he was elected to represent. Just on the state and local tax deduction alone, its incomprehensible that our local Congressman is willing to punish 37% of his district to benefit the 1%.
The Republican Party has clearly gone all in on Trump. They are following his history of bankruptcy and bad financial decisions to bring a tax bill that will increase our deficit and add new tax burdens on the middle class. All to make sure the wealthiest Americans and corporations receive a tax cut.
We do need tax reform. But it should focus on the middle and working class. We should be expanding the earned income tax credit; increasing the child tax credit and identifying new credits for parents; encouraging home ownership; and making sure that education is encouraged – not penalized - in our tax code.
If Ed Royce and the rest of the Orange County Republican Members of Congress cannot stand up for families in our community, then they should step down.
To elect a leader who will protect the middle class, not benefit the top 1%, join our campaign by visiting sam4congress.com