2017: Fitzpatrick Voted For The Final Version Of Trump's Tax Reform
Plan, Which Substantially Cut Taxes For Rich Americans And Corporations,
And Opened Up ANWR To Drilling. In December 2017, Fitzpatrick voted
for the Tax Cut and Jobs Act, also known as Trump's tax reform bill.
According to Congressional Quarterly, "This Conference Summary deals
with the conference report on HR 1, Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which the
House will consider Tuesday. The agreement significantly cuts corporate
and individual taxes and seeks to simply the tax code, although most
individual tax provisions would expire after 2025. It reduces the
corporate tax from 35% to 21% and reduces taxation of so-called
'pass-through' businesses where profits are taxed at the individual
rate. For corporate taxes it also establishes a 'territorial' tax system
that exempts most overseas income from U.S. taxation. Most individual
tax rate rates would be reduced, including by dropping the top rate from
39.6% to 37%, and it eliminates personal exemptions but nearly doubles
the standard deduction so fewer taxpayers will itemize deductions." The
vote was on passage. The House passed the bill by a vote of 227 to 203.
The Senate later passed a slightly modified version of the bill, which
the House later agreed to. President Trump later signed an amended
version of the bill into law. [House Vote 692,
12/19/17; Congressional
Quarterly, 12/18/17;
Congressional Actions, H.R.
1]
Legislation Opened Up Parts Of ANWR To Drilling. According to
Congressional Quarterly, "Passage of the bill, as amended, that
would revise the federal income tax system by lowering individual
and corporate tax rates, repealing various deductions through 2025,
specifically by eliminating the deduction for state and local income
taxes through 2025, increasing the deduction for pass-through
entities and raising the child tax credit through 2025. It would
also open parts of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and
gas drilling." [Congressional Quarterly,
12/2/17]
In 2027, 83 Percent Of The Total Tax Benefit Would Go To The Top
One Percent. According to Tax Policy Center, "In 2027, the overall
average tax cut would be $160, or 0.2 percent of after-tax income
(table 3), largely because almost all individual income tax
provisions would sunset after 2025. On average, taxes would be
little changed for taxpayers in the bottom 95 percent of the income
distribution. Taxpayers in the bottom two quintiles of the income
distribution would face an average tax increase of 0.1 percent of
after-tax income; taxpayers in the middle income quintile would see
no material change on average; and taxpayers in the 95th to 99th
income percentiles would receive an average tax cut of 0.2 percent
of after-tax income. Taxpayers in the top 1 percent of the income
distribution would receive an average tax cut of 0.9 percent of
after-tax income, accounting for 83 percent of the total benefit for
that year." [Tax Policy Center,
12/18/17]
In 2027, 86 Million Americans Would See A Tax Increase.
According to ABC News, "The bill, which carries an estimated $1.5
trillion price tag over 10 years, is not expected to win any
Democratic support. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi points to a
new analysis from the non-partisan Tax Policy Center that predicts
86 million people would see a tax increase compared to current law
by 2027, while 83 percent of the anticipated benefits would be
reaped by the wealthiest one percent of taxpayers." [ABC News,
12/19/17]
2017: Fitzpatrick Voted Against The FY 2018 Republican Study Committee
Budget Resolution Which In Part Called For Opening Up ANWR To Energy
Development And Exploitation. In October 2017, Fitzpatrick voted
against a budget resolution that would in part, according to
Congressional Quarterly, "provide for $2.9 trillion in new budget
authority in fiscal 2018. It would balance the budget by fiscal 2023 by
reducing spending by $10.1 trillion over 10 years. It would cap total
discretionary spending at $1.06 trillion for fiscal 2018 and would
assume no separate Overseas Contingency Operations funding for fiscal
2018 or subsequent years and would incorporate funding related to war or
terror into the base defense account. It would assume repeal of the 2010
health care overhaul and would convert Medicaid and the Children's
Health Insurance Program into a single block grant program. It would
require that off budget programs, such as Social Security, the U.S.
Postal Service, and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, be included in the
budget." The underlying legislation was an FY 2018 House GOP budget
resolution. The House rejected the RSC budget by a vote of 139 to 281.
[House Vote 555,
10/5/17; Congressional
Quarterly, 10/5/17; Congressional
Actions, H. Amdt.
455;
Congressional Actions, H. Con. Res.
71]