03/22/2019

Ways and Means Hearing to Focus on 2017 Tax Law

The March 27 hearing will focus on the Republican tax overhaul of 2017

The House Ways and Means Committee will hold a hearing March 27 on the Republican tax overhaul of 2017.

House Democrats have criticized the GOP tax law as disproportionately benefitting corporations and wealthy Americans at the expense of the middle class. Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal (D-MA) has pointed to reports that taxpayers are receiving smaller refunds after filing their taxes this year as evidence that middle-class taxpayers “weren’t a priority” for the Republican authors of the tax law.

The White House and congressional Republicans have defended the tax law as a significant reason why the economy expanded by more than 3 percent in 2018. This week, White House chief economist Kevin Hassett predicted that the nation’s gross domestic product will grow at or above 3 percent for the next five years.

Some economists have warned that stimulus from the 2017 tax cuts will fade and the Federal Reserve has also predicted slower growth for 2019. Hassett said there are some risks to his forecast, but that there is “ample room for optimism.”

“As we run the numbers, there are so many positives that are basically the residual effect of going from being the highest-taxed place on Earth to being an attractive place,” Hassett said.

This article was provided to OSAE by the Power of A and ASAE's Inroads.