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Former Vice President Mike Pence’s foundation is launching a $10 million campaign to preserve the Trump-era tax cuts that are set to expire after next year as he presses conservatives not to stray from the fight before the November election.
Advancing American Freedom released a 13-page blueprint Thursday with arguments being made to Capitol Hill and to voters in swing states, particularly in those that could decide control of the Senate.
“We will be urging conservative leaders to join us in this fight,” according to the document.
The group envisions a lengthy campaign that will spin into 2025 when the White House and Congress will have to decide whether to keep the tax code as approved in the 2017 tax law when Republican Donald Trump was president or make adjustments. If nothing is done, many of the individual tax policies would expire after 2025.
Much will depend on power centers in the House and Senate and which party controls the White House.
Democratic President Joe Biden has proposed keeping the tax cuts for people making under $400,000 a year while raising the corporate rate and introducing higher taxes on the wealthy. Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee for the White House, also wants to keep the tax cuts for many households, but he proposes lowering the corporate tax rate to 20%, from the current 21% rate.
“Washington has a spending problem, not a revenue problem,” Pence said in a statement. “Our national debt is out of control, and taxing the American people more is not the solution.”
Former Sen. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania, a Republican who was instrumental in crafting the 2017 tax bill, is a strong supporter of the foundation’s campaign to extend the tax policies.
The push comes as Congress has quietly begun workshopping tax policy before next year’s session, when lawmakers must address the issue or risk allowing some of the 2017 policies to expire, potentially raising taxes for many individuals.
The federal balance sheet is in the red, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said this week, with spending outpacing revenue. That is in large part because of the COVID-era outlays, funding for the war in Ukraine and the costs of Medicare, Medicaid and other programs particularly to care for an aging U.S. population.
A CBO report in May estimated that extending the provisions of Trump’s Tax Cuts and Jobs Act would increase deficits by nearly $5 trillion into 2034.
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Ah, yes. The “fiscally conservative Republicans” advocating for blowing up the deficit by another $5 trillion to keep themselves and their buddies rich. What a crock.
+1
Just about all Republicans only care about deficits when there is a Democratic president.
Both parties are responsible for the reckless fiscal mess that we are in now.
Raising taxes on corporations is absolutely rediculious,
Cut spending.
Stop treating people like they are blind lost puppies that need to be
dependent on government programs.
Lean how to spell, Keith.
Michael G.
Learn how to analyzes numbers.
No, it’s really just Republicans. Democrats have reduced the deficit, Republicans have not.
Also, that corporate tax needs to be jacked way up. It is absolutely insane that I am personally paying a higher tax rate than multi-billion dollars businesses. I’m over this lie that corporations are overtaxed while they spend more money on stock buybacks and bonuses than R&D.
Reagan was full of crap, trickle down economics was a lie, and corporations need to have their taxes raised to 35% at a minimum. Austerity has never worked once, that’s always been a grift for the upper classes to pay less in taxes while shifting the cost burden onto the middle class and cutting public services while preserving corporate subsidies.
Just ignore the effects of 40 years of trickle down economics. Keep telling gullible voters it really will make things better “this time”.
Yet, the bottom 50% of all income earners pay no fedreral income taxes.
There should be a flat income tax rate and EVERYONE should contribute
to the tax base.
That’s a lie, Keith. The bottom 50% contributed about 2.5% of Federal tax revenue last year. Don’t make stuff up. Not surprising, given that lax labor laws and wage laws haven’t been enforced since the Clinton administration so corporations can get away with paying bottom barrel wages and no benefits. That number would be higher if companies paid their employees more.
This is exactly why no one takes Republicans seriously when they talk about deficit reduction.
Don’t kid yourself. The Dems are not serious either on deficit reduction.
If they were, they would stop trying to get everyone hooked and dependent
on government programs.
Sorry, Keith. But Democrats are way better on the deficit than Republicans. Have been since Reagan. In fact, it was Reagan who started the deficit mess when he slashed marginal tax rates for the top 1% of earners with the “trickle down” lie. 4 of the 5 top deficit-spenders in US history are Republicans. History and reality just aren’t on your side.
I keep thinking that perhaps Pence has turned over a new leaf (e.g. not supporting Trump in 2024) but then he pulls this same old BS. This right-wing groups, which certainly aren’t fiscally conservative, must be paying him a pretty penny.
I still wish he would write a tell-all book, make big $$ and then go away.
Dems are NOT fiscally responsible either.
The Dems only answer is to tax the rich even more. What a
rediculious strategy. The top income earners already pay the bulk of
all federal income taxes.
The tax base needs to be expanded. Everyone regardless of income levels
should contribute.
Keith B, who said anything about the Dems being fiscally responsible? Adding random “what about-isms” doesn’t address the point.
So Damn Stupid and Embarrassing!!! just gtfoh! Go down South!! You for in down there!!!
Huh, Micah?
What???? Lol…..