2017: Fitzpatrick Voted For The Final Version Of Trump's Tax Reform
Plan, Which Substantially Cut Taxes For Rich Americans And Corporations,
And Doubled The Exemption For The Estate Tax. 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 Doubles The Estate Tax Exemption. According to the
Washington Post, "You can pass your heirs up to $22 million
tax-free: In the end, the estate tax (often called the 'death tax'
by opponents) would remain part of the U.S. tax code, but far fewer
families will pay it. Under current law, Americans can pass on up to
$5.5 million tax-free (that threshold is $11 million for married
couples). The House wanted to do away with the estate tax entirely,
but some senators felt that was too much of a giveaway to the
mega-rich. The final compromise was to double the threshold, so now
the first $11 million that people pass on to their heirs in
property, stocks and other assets won't be taxed (and yes, that
means $22 million for married couples)." [Washington Post,
12/15/17]
Only 2 Out Of 1,000 Estates Will Face A Tax Under Current Law.
According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, "Only the
heirs of the wealthiest 2 out of every 1,000 estates will face any
estate tax. [...] Repeal would provide the top 0.2 percent of
estates with tax-cut windfalls averaging more than $3 million
apiece. About 330 estates worth more than $50 million would get tax
cuts averaging more than $20 million apiece." [Center on Budget
Policy Priorities, Accessed
11/22/17]
2001 New York Times Article Noted That Not A Single Example Of A
Farm Was Lost Due To The Estate Tax. According to the Center on
Budget and Policy Priorities, "As the New York Times reported in
2001, when the estate tax applied to far more estates than it does
today: 'Even one of the leading advocates for repeal of estate
taxes, the American Farm Bureau Federation, said it could not cite a
single example of a farm lost because of estate taxes.'" [Center on
Budget Policy Priorities, Accessed
11/22/17]
2017: Fitzpatrick Voted For The House GOP's 2017 Tax Reform Plan Which
Significantly Cut Taxes For The Rich And Corporations And Repealed The
Estate Tax. In November 2017, Fitzpatrick voted for reconciliation
legislation which significantly altered the federal tax code. According
to Congressional Quarterly, "The bill substantially restructures the
U.S. tax code to simplify the code and reduce taxes on individuals,
corporations and small businesses. For individuals, it consolidates the
current seven tax brackets down to four and eliminates or restricts many
tax credits and deductions, including by eliminating the deduction for
state and local income taxes and limiting the deduction for property
taxes to $10,000 and the interest deduction for a home mortgage to the
first $500,000 worth of a loan. [...] On the business side, it
reduces the corporate tax from 35% to 20% and establishes a
'territorial' tax system that would exempt most income derived overseas
from U.S. corporate taxation. It allows businesses to immediately
expense 100% of the cost of assets acquired and placed into service, and
for small businesses it raises the Section 179 expensing limit to $5
million for five years. It also establishes a 25% rate for a portion of
pass-through business income that would otherwise have to be paid at the
ordinary individual tax level, and for small businesses where an
individual would receive less than $150,000 in pass-through income it
taxes the first $75,000 of that income at a 9% rate." The vote was on
passage. The House passed the bill by a vote of 227 to 205. President
Trump later signed an amended version of the bill into law. [House Vote
637, 11/16/17;
Congressional Quarterly,
11/15/17; Congressional Actions,
H.R.
1]
Bill Would Phase In A Complete Estate Tax Repeal. According to
Congressional Quarterly, "It also repeals the estate tax starting in
2025, and until that time doubles from $5.6 million to $11.2
million (adjusted annually for inflation) the amount per spouse that
is exempted from the estate tax. The gift tax rate would be reduced
to 35%." [Congressional Quarterly,
11/15/17]
The Current Federal Estate Tax Has A $5.5 Million Per Person
Exemption. According to the Center on Budget and Policy
Priorities, "The federal estate tax is due only on the portion of an
estate's value that exceeds roughly $5.5 million per person ($11
million per couple). As a result, only the wealthiest 0.2 percent of
estates pay the tax, and typically at fairly moderate rates. Repeal
would give these estates windfall tax cuts averaging more than $3
million apiece, benefitting wealthy heirs. But it would do virtually
nothing for small farms and businesses, despite the claims of repeal
supporters. Repeal would also cost $239 billion over ten years and
worsen wealth inequality." [Center on Budget Policy Priorities,
Accessed
11/22/17]
Only 2 Out Of 1,000 Estates Will Face A Tax Under Current Law.
According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, "Only the
heirs of the wealthiest 2 out of every 1,000 estates will face any
estate tax. [...] Repeal would provide the top 0.2 percent of
estates with tax-cut windfalls averaging more than $3 million
apiece. About 330 estates worth more than $50 million would get tax
cuts averaging more than $20 million apiece." [Center on Budget
Policy Priorities, Accessed
11/22/17]
A 2001 New York Times Article Noted That Not A Single Example Of A
Farm Was Lost Due To The Estate Tax. According to the Center on
Budget and Policy Priorities, "As the New York Times reported in
2001, when the estate tax applied to far more estates than it does
today: 'Even one of the leading advocates for repeal of estate
taxes, the American Farm Bureau Federation, said it could not cite a
single example of a farm lost because of estate taxes.'" [Center on
Budget Policy Priorities, Accessed
11/22/17]
Trump's Family Could Gain $1.1 Billion From An Estate Tax
Repeal. According to the New York Times, "Though it would not be
reflected on his income tax return, Mr. Trump's proposal to
eliminate the estate tax would generate the largest tax savings. If
his assets --- reportedly valued at $2.86 billion --- were
transferred after his death under today's rules, his estate would be
taxed at about 40 percent. Repealing the federal estate tax could
save his family about $1.1 billion, though it could still be
subject to New York estate taxes." [New York Times,
9/28/17]