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House passes massive tax cut for corporations, the wealthy, foreign investors, and Donald Trump

False populism wins.

The Capitol is seen in Washington, Monday, Dec. 18, 2017, as Congress returns to face action on the GOP tax bill and funding the government before the end of the week. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
The Capitol is seen in Washington, Monday, Dec. 18, 2017, as Congress returns to face action on the GOP tax bill and funding the government before the end of the week. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

UPDATE (4:41 PM):

The House of Representatives will have to vote again on the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act Wednesday morning, per the parliamentarian.

In a statement released by House Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), there were three issues found by the Senate Parliamentarian that violate the Byrd Rule and will have to be removed before the Senate vote later Tuesday night.


The House of Representatives voted 227 to 203 on Tuesday to pass the final version of the GOP Tax Cut and Jobs Act.

Lawmakers had just four days to read through the 503-page bill after it was released on Friday. Just hours before the House was set to vote, even top Republicans on the tax writing committee couldn’t speak to the basic details of the bill.

The final bill is expected to be a deficit-buster, costing roughly $1.46 trillion dollars according to the nonpartisan Joint Committee on Taxation. That deficit could be much higher if Congress  fails to extend the individual tax cuts, which are set to expire after 2025. Corporations, however, will get a permanent tax cut which cost $1 trillion dollars alone, according to the nonpartisan Joint Committee on Taxation. 

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America’s health care system will also take a devastating blow thanks to the bill. The individual mandate, a provision of the Affordable Care Act that required individuals be covered by heath insurance or face a tax, is repealed in the bill. The Congressional Budget Office estimates this will result in 13 million more uninsured Americans. Cuts to Medicare and Social Security be soon on the horizon as well.

Middle-class Americans, who Trump and his administration have repeatedly stated will stand to benefit the most from the GOP tax plan, will likely see a tax hike or little-to-no difference in their taxes.

Analysis of the final tax bill from the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center found that taxpayers in the bottom quintile (making less than $25,000 a year) would get an average tax cut of roughly $60. Taxpayers in the middle income quintile (those with income between about $49,000 and $86,000) would receive an average tax cut of about $900. Meanwhile, taxpayers making more than $733,000 annually would receive an average cut of $51,000.

Meanwhile, Trump and his wealthy real estate and hedge fund associates are poised to reap the biggest benefits.

Trump told a crowd at a September event in Indiana that the tax plan is “not good for him,” but it is very, very good for him. Trump and his family could save more than $1.1 billion dollars under the plan, but because he hasn’t released his taxes, there’s no way of knowing the exact extent to which his tax plan benefits Trump.

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The American public has caught on to this scam. A recent CNN poll from Tuesday found only 33 percent of Americans say they favor the GOP tax bill, while 55 percent oppose it, making this legislation the most unpopular bill in 30 years. 

In spite of this, the Senate is expected to vote on the final bill Tuesday evening.