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Senate Democrats Detail Tax Reform Principles in Letter to Trump

AUG. 1, 2017

Senate Democrats Detail Tax Reform Principles in Letter to Trump

DATED AUG. 1, 2017
DOCUMENT ATTRIBUTES
  • Authors
    Van Hollen, Sen. Chris
    Schumer, Sen. Charles Ellis
    Durbin, Sen. Richard J.
    Wyden, Sen. Ron
    Leahy, Sen. Patrick J.
    Feinstein, Sen. Dianne
    Murray, Sen. Patty
    Reed, Sen. Jack
    Nelson, Bill
    Carper, Sen. Thomas R.
    Stabenow, Sen. Debbie
    Cantwell, Sen. Maria
    Menendez, Sen. Robert
    Cardin, Sen. Benjamin L.
    Sanders, Sen. Bernie
    Brown, Sen. Sherrod
    Casey, Sen. Robert P., Jr.
    McCaskill, Claire
    Klobuchar, Sen. Amy
    Whitehouse, Sen. Sheldon
    Tester, Sen. Jon
    Udall, Tom
    Shaheen, Sen. Jeanne
    Warner, Sen. Mark R.
    Merkley, Sen. Jeff
    Bennet, Sen. Michael F.
    Gillibrand, Sen. Kirsten E.
    Franken, Al
    Coons, Sen. Christopher A.
    Blumenthal, Sen. Richard
    Schatz, Sen. Brian
    Baldwin, Sen. Tammy
    Murphy, Sen. Christopher
    Hirono, Sen. Mazie K.
    Heinrich, Sen. Martin
    King, Sen. Angus S., Jr.
    Kaine, Sen. Tim
    Warren, Sen. Elizabeth
    Markey, Sen. Edward J.
    Booker, Sen. Cory A.
    Peters, Sen. Gary C.
    Duckworth, Sen. Tammy
    Hassan, Sen. Maggie
    Harris, Kamala
    Cortez Masto, Sen. Catherine
  • Institutional Authors
    U.S. Senate
  • Subject Area/Tax Topics
  • Jurisdictions
  • Tax Analysts Document Number
    2017-64332
  • Tax Analysts Electronic Citation
    2017 TNT 147-26

Dear President Trump, Leader McConnell, and Chairman Hatch:

We are writing to express our interest in working with you on bipartisan tax reform. We are confident that, by working together, we could modernize our tax system to increase working families’ wages, improve middle-class job growth, promote domestic investment, modernize our outdated business and international tax systems and put in place sound fiscal policy that raises the revenue needed to meet the needs of our country.

This letter highlights three key principles that we believe are prerequisites to any bipartisan tax reform effort.

First, we believe that tax reform should not increase the tax burden on the middle class. In addition, any reform effort should not benefit the wealthiest individuals, who have already seen outsized benefits from recent economic gains while working-class wages have remained stagnant. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin expressed support for this principle when he stated before the Finance Committee that there would be “no absolute tax cut for the upper class.” We hope you agree. Tax reform cannot be a cover story for delivering tax cuts to the wealthiest. We will not support any tax reform plan that includes tax cuts for the top one percent.

Second, we believe it is crucial that tax reform legislation go through regular order and not reconciliation. Using a fast-track process like reconciliation would undoubtedly result in outsized political influence on the process and significantly hinder lawmakers’ ability to close loopholes and end special interest favoritism that plagues our current tax system. As such, reconciliation is just a tool to jam through partisan short-term tax cuts that would result in economic uncertainty and instability and significantly increase our budget deficit. This stands in stark contrast to the regular order, transparent, and fiscally responsible process that allowed the 1986 tax reform to succeed and endure. Only regular order allows for a bipartisan effort and successful, lasting reform.

Third, tax reform should be focused on providing a revenue base that meets the needs of our country. Deep cuts to our corporate, individual, and other tax rates are very costly. We will not support any effort to pass deficit-financed tax cuts, which would endanger critical programs like Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security and other public investments in the future.

We look forward to working together to write tax reform legislation that provides real relief for America’s working families.

DOCUMENT ATTRIBUTES
  • Authors
    Van Hollen, Sen. Chris
    Schumer, Sen. Charles Ellis
    Durbin, Sen. Richard J.
    Wyden, Sen. Ron
    Leahy, Sen. Patrick J.
    Feinstein, Sen. Dianne
    Murray, Sen. Patty
    Reed, Sen. Jack
    Nelson, Bill
    Carper, Sen. Thomas R.
    Stabenow, Sen. Debbie
    Cantwell, Sen. Maria
    Menendez, Sen. Robert
    Cardin, Sen. Benjamin L.
    Sanders, Sen. Bernie
    Brown, Sen. Sherrod
    Casey, Sen. Robert P., Jr.
    McCaskill, Claire
    Klobuchar, Sen. Amy
    Whitehouse, Sen. Sheldon
    Tester, Sen. Jon
    Udall, Tom
    Shaheen, Sen. Jeanne
    Warner, Sen. Mark R.
    Merkley, Sen. Jeff
    Bennet, Sen. Michael F.
    Gillibrand, Sen. Kirsten E.
    Franken, Al
    Coons, Sen. Christopher A.
    Blumenthal, Sen. Richard
    Schatz, Sen. Brian
    Baldwin, Sen. Tammy
    Murphy, Sen. Christopher
    Hirono, Sen. Mazie K.
    Heinrich, Sen. Martin
    King, Sen. Angus S., Jr.
    Kaine, Sen. Tim
    Warren, Sen. Elizabeth
    Markey, Sen. Edward J.
    Booker, Sen. Cory A.
    Peters, Sen. Gary C.
    Duckworth, Sen. Tammy
    Hassan, Sen. Maggie
    Harris, Kamala
    Cortez Masto, Sen. Catherine
  • Institutional Authors
    U.S. Senate
  • Subject Area/Tax Topics
  • Jurisdictions
  • Tax Analysts Document Number
    2017-64332
  • Tax Analysts Electronic Citation
    2017 TNT 147-26
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