Recently, there has been increased discussion that Congress is gearing up for a “Tax Cut, Phase II.” This is a terrific development — a second round of tax cuts will reveal in bright colors which members of Congress are for and against more money in workers’ wallets.
There are mountains of evidence to suggest that Americans have increasingly embraced the first round of President Trump’s tax cuts. In response to Trump’s legislation, over 440 companies (and counting) have offered their employees bonuses, pay raises, and increased benefits. On top of that, even CNN was forced to admit that the February jobs report was a blockbuster when they noted the 313,000 jobs added “was much stronger than economists expected and the biggest gain since July 2016.” February was also the first month that payroll withholdings were updated to reflect the new tax law.
As workers have witnessed the growth in their paychecks, they’ve become increasingly aware of the deceitful narrative sold to them during the initial tax debate. Approval ratings for Trump’s tax plan have grown to 51 percent, up from 37 percent when the law was first passed. Imagine that — only 37 percent of Americans initially supported legislation that would give them more money. The Democrat fear campaign ran strong.
Now that Americans have learned the tax cut boogeyman does not exist, Congress has tailwinds to continue putting more money in families’ wallets. As it currently stands, nearly all of Trump’s individual tax cuts are set to expire in 2025. The reason for this is that Senate Democrats filibustered Trump’s jobs bill, and the GOP was forced to craft a bill that adhered to arcane procedural rules to get around it.
A “Tax Cut, Phase II” should first and foremost make these individual tax cuts permanent (or as permanent as a tax cut can be). This will eliminate uncertainty and give American households a greater appreciation for the savings the overwhelming majority currently receive. Thankfully, House leadership has made it clear that it plans to make this point the focus of their renewed push. House Ways and Means Committee Chair Kevin Brady (R-Texas) stated, “Permanence is a high priority for us” on individual tax cuts. Excellent.
Democrats in the House have already voted once against tax cut benefits for workers (not one Democrat voted yes). Are they prepared to do so again? If so, House Republicans find themselves in a unique position to draw a favorable contrast with Democrats — one side supports bigger paychecks, the other side does not.
With speculation that a phase II rollout could be coming as soon as April 15th, keep your eyes peeled for more tax cuts to benefit American households. And as with the last go-around, disregard the shameless scare tactics from those who deny this legislation will have a positive impact on the economy and your wallet.
Author’s note: Pat Hall also contributed to this article.
Photo credit: 401(K) 2012 via Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0
