The GOP is cruising towards passage of its class warfare tax legislation that continues the long trend of Republican tax policy to redistribute upwards to the very rich. The legislation, however, is supported by a small minority of the American public (latest polls put support for the tax legislation at less than 30%). See, e.g., Allan Smith, Polls show key Republicans could get whacked by the tax bill, Business Insider.com (Dec. 4, 2017). That’s astonishing when you consider that one provision in both the House and Senate bills that is used as a “revenue raiser” to pay for the huge tax subsidies to corporations and wealthy taxpayers will be especially hard hitting to lots of middle class and lower-income people, including many who voted for Trump.
The legislation will gut the “casualty loss” provision that currently allows taxpayers to deduct losses from hurricanes and fires and other accidents and forces of nature, to the extent those losses aren’t covered by insurance (after a $100 per loss limitation). Thus, people who were flooded by Harvey can claim casualty losses on their 2017 tax returns for amounts not covered by insurance. People who lost their homes in the fires that raged earlier this fall in northern California can claim casualty losses on their 2017 tax returns for amounts not covered by insurance. But, as Bob Cesca notes for Salon.com, As L.A. Burns, Republicans Vote for a Tax Hike on the Victims (Dec. 8, 2017). See also Thomson Reuters Tax & Accounting News, 2017 Tax Reform: proposed individual tax changes in the ‘Tax Cuts & Jobs Act’ (Nov. 3, 2017) and Sally Schreiber et al, Details of Tax Reform Legislation Revealed, Journal of Accountancy (Nov. 2, 2017) (noting that the personal casualty loss is repealed, except, in the House version, for such losses associated with special disaster relief legislation–which requires congressional action for each one); Tony Nitti, Senate Releases Tax Bill: Here’s How It Compares to Current Law & the House Plan, Forbes.com (Nov. 10, 2017).
You have to wonder just how the Republican Party and Trump administration became so completely heartless. And why they think that Americans won’t notice that they only care about multimillionaires in the “one percent”.
Wow! Now this I did not know.
“The legislation will gut the “casualty loss” provision that currently allows taxpayers to deduct losses from hurricanes and fires and other accidents and forces of nature, to the extent those losses aren’t covered by insurance (after a $100 per loss limitation).”
actually a move to help insurance companies, it makes not insuring a free and clear house a greater risk. If you have a mortgage you have to have insurance so its only free and clear houses that are affected.
Note that this affects only .35% of those who itemize and .11% of all returns or about 160k returns. The average size of the loss was 30982 in 2012 but a very small percentage take it. Note that the current issue also requires that the loss be greater than 10% of AGI. So the impact is small but it does take the government a bit out of the insurance business.
“And why they think that Americans won’t notice that they only care about multimillionaires in the “one percent”.”
Half of Americans will not know anything factual about the effects of this tax bill. That is why the GOP does not care what they do.
And it is getting worse every single day.