Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted

Kathleen Romig @kathleenromig.bsky.social · 2d

Alarming news this morning that Social Security head Frank Bisignano has been named “CEO” of IRS, a move that raises 3 major concerns:

www.wsj.com/politics/pol...

Bessent Picks Social Security Chief Frank Bisignano as IRS CEO

The Social Security head will do double duty at the tax agency while Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent retains his formal title as acting IRS commissioner.

www.wsj.com

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Reposted

Sharon Parrott @sharonparrott.bsky.social · 18d

The Administration acknowledged that it will stop the survey that measures food insecurity, just as tariffs push up food prices and the deep cuts to food assistance enacted in July start to take effect. Congress must intervene to save these vital data. www.wsj.com/economy/trum...

Exclusive | Trump Administration Cancels Annual Hunger Survey

The government has been measuring food insecurity since the mid-1990s but now says the report has become “overly politicized.”

www.wsj.com

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Reposted

Chye-Ching Huang @dashching.bsky.social · Jul 10

Via @jeffstein.bsky.social @washingtonpost.com anti-tax interests want the Trump IRS to give an unlawful tax cut to wealthy people by executive fiat.

Just the tip of one of two big icebergs of tax cuts for special interests coming for the tax system. www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...

Conservatives are asking Trump for another big tax cut

Fresh off passage of the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” some anti-tax advocates hope to push the administration to change how taxable capital gains are calculated.

www.washingtonpost.com

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Reposted

Allison Orris @aorris.bsky.social · Jun 23

This suggests that Republicans may add yet another deeply harmful health care cut to the Senate bill – a cut that would take health coverage away from even more people, shift massive, unaffordable costs to states, & could even lead some states to end their #Medicaid expansion.

Daniel Payne @danielpayne.bsky.social · Jun 23

Scoop: Senate Republicans are considering a new provision that would further cut Medicaid funding in the OBBB

www.statnews.com/2025/06/23/g...

Senate Republicans discuss new way to cut Medicaid in Trump’s tax bill

The proposal would sharply limit federal spending on the Affordable Care Act's Medicaid expansion.

www.statnews.com

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chuckcbpp.bsky.social @chuckcbpp.bsky.social · May 15

Meanwhile, House Republicans are doing nothing about the Trump tariffs & going out of their way to deny any of their Child Tax Credit increase to 17 million kids, many of whose parents likely shop at Walmart- families they voted to help last year, but not now when it counts- why?

MeidasTouch @meidastouch.com · May 15

🚨 WALMART RAISING PRICES DUE TO TARIFFS

“We will do our best to keep our prices as low as possible but given the magnitude of the tariffs, even at the reduced levels announced this week, we aren’t able to absorb all the pressure given the reality of narrow retail margins,” Walmart CEO says.

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chuckcbpp.bsky.social @chuckcbpp.bsky.social · May 15

The IRS has the fewest auditors who have expertise to audit sophisticated tax returns — since the 1950s

Amy Hanauer @amyhanauer.bsky.social · May 15

Why do Republicans want to gut the IRS? One reason: donors save big. 7 corporations collectively kept $1.4 billion in tax breaks that they'd admitted would likely be found illegal if investigated. But statute of limitations ran out so they kept 'em. With a gutted IRS, this gets worse.

What Corporations Have to Gain from the Gutting of the IRS

Seven huge corporations recently announced that in 2024 they were allowed to collectively keep $1.4 billion in tax breaks from previous years that they had publicly admitted would likely be found ille...

itep.org

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chuckcbpp.bsky.social @chuckcbpp.bsky.social · May 12

For those who care about the Child Tax Credit - this from my colleague Kris Cox is a must read:

Kris Cox @krisycox.bsky.social · May 12

House W&M bill does nothing for the ~17M kids currently left out of the $2,000 max credit b/c their families’ earnings are too low. Temp. raising the max to $2,500 gives them $0 or zilch, but delivers an additional $500-per-kid to higher-income families.
www.cbpp.org/blog/policym...

Policymakers Should Expand the Child Tax Credit for the 17 Million Children Currently Left Out of the Full Credit | Center on Budget and Policy Priorities

Congressional Republicans may soon release a budget resolution that will set the terms of the tax debate, and which is expected to extend the 2017 tax law, including its changes to the Child Tax...

www.cbpp.org

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chuckcbpp.bsky.social @chuckcbpp.bsky.social · May 12

This is an upside-down plan that walks away from campaign promises to serve those at the margins of the economy.

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chuckcbpp.bsky.social @chuckcbpp.bsky.social · May 12

The tax cuts will be partly offset by taking away/cutting food assistance, health coverage, income assistance, & college aid, making it harder for people to afford their basic needs and limiting opportunity.

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chuckcbpp.bsky.social @chuckcbpp.bsky.social · May 12

Meanwhile, the Ways and Means bill does nothing about the elephant that is going to be in their hearing room on Tuesday: the Trump tariffs --- which would erase much of the small working-class gains from their skewed tax bill while risking recession.

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chuckcbpp.bsky.social @chuckcbpp.bsky.social · May 12

And for all of the feigned concern about budget deficits, the House bill likely costs hundreds of billions more than a full extension of the already bloated 2017 tax law. (More to come when JCT scores are released.) The ultimate cost would be much higher without budget gimmicks.

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chuckcbpp.bsky.social @chuckcbpp.bsky.social · May 12

No tax on tips barely registers b/c it affects a tiny share of workers. (Chart is from an older bill but same story here.) And deductions for overtime & seniors add to the cost but don’t fundamentally change the story either (& leave out lower income filers).

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chuckcbpp.bsky.social @chuckcbpp.bsky.social · May 12

And none of the much-touted new tax exemptions change the picture.

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chuckcbpp.bsky.social @chuckcbpp.bsky.social · May 12

And while Republicans left out 17 million children in low-income families from their Child Tax Credit proposal, they increased to $30 million per couple the amount that can be bequeathed tax-free to trust fund kids.

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chuckcbpp.bsky.social @chuckcbpp.bsky.social · May 12

These new corporate tax cuts come on top of the already permanent corp tax cuts – which delivered an eye-popping 83% of benefits to the households with incomes in the top 1%.

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chuckcbpp.bsky.social @chuckcbpp.bsky.social · May 12

While House Rs excluded critical improvements to the #ChildTaxCredit that 169 of them voted for last year (Smith-Wyden bill), they included ALL of the add’l corporate tax cuts that were in that same bill, plus permanent lower tax rates on corporations’ foreign income.

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chuckcbpp.bsky.social @chuckcbpp.bsky.social · May 12

While 3 million small business owners will see their health insurance premiums skyrocket, wealthy partnerships will receive an even larger pass-through deduction – rising from 20% to a 23% deduction.

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chuckcbpp.bsky.social @chuckcbpp.bsky.social · May 12

While ignoring small biz health care needs & leaving millions of working-class fams behind, the bill throws a gold-plated kitchen sink of tax cuts at high-income ppl – incl expanded discounts for wealthy partnerships, tax-free millions for heirs, & new windfalls for shareholders.

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chuckcbpp.bsky.social @chuckcbpp.bsky.social · May 12

For all the rhetoric we will hear about small businesses at the markup on Tuesday, it’s notable that House Rs propose to do nothing but watch the health premiums of 3 million small businesses owners – and 21 million low/middle inc people overall – skyrocket:
x.com/sarahL202/st...

Sarah Lueck on X: "The House W&M bill includes a slew of tax cuts for wealthy ppl. One glaring omission: an extension of enhanced premium tax credits. And that's a major reason 13.7M would be uninsured per CBO's early look at proposals in the House E&C bill. https://t.co/baMbr67eoN" / X

The House W&M bill includes a slew of tax cuts for wealthy ppl. One glaring omission: an extension of enhanced premium tax credits. And that's a major reason 13.7M would be uninsured per CBO's early look at proposals in the House E&C bill. https://t.co/baMbr67eoN

x.com

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chuckcbpp.bsky.social @chuckcbpp.bsky.social · May 12

None of these 17 million kids from low-income families will get a dime of the Republicans’ proposed increase in the #CTC as Kris Cox explains here ⬇️
bsky.app/profile/kris...

Kris Cox @krisycox.bsky.social · May 12

House W&M bill does nothing for the ~17M kids currently left out of the $2,000 max credit b/c their families’ earnings are too low. Temp. raising the max to $2,500 gives them $0 or zilch, but delivers an additional $500-per-kid to higher-income families.
www.cbpp.org/blog/policym...

Policymakers Should Expand the Child Tax Credit for the 17 Million Children Currently Left Out of the Full Credit | Center on Budget and Policy Priorities

Congressional Republicans may soon release a budget resolution that will set the terms of the tax debate, and which is expected to extend the 2017 tax law, including its changes to the Child Tax...

www.cbpp.org

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chuckcbpp.bsky.social @chuckcbpp.bsky.social · May 12

Let’s start w/ the bill’s failure to deliver for families on the #ChildTaxCredit – 17 million kids today do not get the full $2,000 max credit b/c their families don’t earn enough – these are parents who drive delivery trucks, clean offices, care for the elderly, etc.

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chuckcbpp.bsky.social @chuckcbpp.bsky.social · May 12

The House Ways and Means tax bill released today is skewed in favor of rich people, is even more costly than the original 2017 law, and fails to deliver for working-class families and small businesses.
A thread 🧵

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Reposted

Bobby Kogan @bbkogan.bsky.social · May 10

in the gop tax plan, the top 0.1% gets more than all the households in the bottom half of america combined

Bobby Kogan @bbkogan.bsky.social · May 10

here's the same thing, but showing percentiles

it's a huge tax cut for the top 5% and way less for everyone else

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chuckcbpp.bsky.social @chuckcbpp.bsky.social · May 10

To get an idea of Republican tax bill on the Child Tax Credit:

Picture a couple with 2 kids living in a fancy suburb, making $400k. A thousand $ more for them.

For the kids of the people who cut their grass, deliver their packages, watch their kids, clean their house: Nothing

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chuckcbpp.bsky.social @chuckcbpp.bsky.social · May 10

So tonight we’ve learned – despite all the Trump bluster – House Republicans are proposing more tax cuts for the wealthy, increasing its already bloated costs, while harshly failing to deliver for millions of families he promised to help.

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