Annapolis, MD – Today, Maryland Democratic Party Chair Kathleen Matthews issued the following statement after Congressman Andy Harris voted for House Republicans’ billionaire tax scam:
“Congressman Harris’ just threw working families in his district under the bus in order to give billionaires and wealthy corporations a tax cut. This tax scam will permanently raise taxes on thousands of Congressman Harris’ constituents, including home owners, seniors and college students. Congressman Harris was elected to look out for Marylanders, but today, he sold them out to deliver a win for Donald Trump.”
Here’s a look at the impact of the Republican tax scam in Maryland:
- The GOP tax bill threatens to take the state and local tax deduction (SALT) away from tens of millions of households nationwide. The deduction ensures that Americans are not taxed twice on the same income. In Maryland, nearly 680,000 residents would no longer be able to use the state and local deduction to save hard-earned money on their federal tax returns under the House tax bill.
- The House Republican tax bill is a giant giveaway to wealthy corporations and rich Marylanders, at the expense of everyone else:
- The richest 1% of Maryland taxpayers will receive 93% of the tax cuts under the House Republican tax bill.
- The richest 1% of Marylanders will receive an average tax cut of $59,940, more than 150 times what the average middle-class family would get.
- 33% of middle-income taxpayers in Maryland would even see their taxes go up, by $1,320 on average.
- The House Republican tax scam hurts teachers in Maryland, by repealing a tax credit for teachers who buy their own school supplies.
- College students in Maryland will also be hurt, because the House tax scam makes student loans more expensive. More than 215,000 graduates in Maryland take advantage of the student loan interest deduction House Republicans just voted to eliminate, which saves them $1,105 on average.
- Maryland’s seniors will find it harder to save for retirement or cover their medical bills. In fact, the House GOP tax scam would take away all Marylanders’ ability to deduct their medical expenses. More than 220,000 Maryland residents deducted their medical expenses in 2014, saving $9,742 on average.
- The House Republican tax bill could also force $25 billion in automatic cuts to Medicare next year. Nearly 1 million Marylanders who rely on Medicare could be at risk.
- Workers in Maryland would be hurt by the corporate tax giveaway. The Republican tax plan incentivizes large companies to move jobs overseas by giving them a 0% rate on most foreign profits. While big corporations take advantage of this loophole, small businesses on Main Street will find it harder to compete.