Ryan: Middle-class families will save nearly $1,200 per year under GOP tax plan

WASHINGTON – House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) on Thursday said a middle-class family of four ($59,000 median household income) will save nearly $1,200 a year under the tax reform plan Republican lawmakers crafted in conjunction with the Trump administration.

“With this plan the typical family of four will save $1,182 a year on their taxes,” Ryan said at a news conference in which he and fellow House GOP leaders formally unveiled the legislation.

“For many families having an additional $1,182 more will make a real difference,” the speaker added.

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act proposes $5.5 trillion in tax cuts over the next decade and constitutes the most comprehensive tax reform package since the Graham-Rudman-Hollings Act of 1986.

The maximum corporate tax rate would be reduced from 35 percent to 20 percent. The existing seven income tax brackets would be consolidated into four.

Pass-through taxation would be reduced from 35 percent to 25 percent and the estate tax would be eliminated.

The child tax credit would increase from $1,000 to $1,600.

State and local property tax deductions would be capped at $10,000 and mortgage home interest deductions would remain capped at $500,000 for newly purchased homes.

Retirement plans are not affected by the legislation nor is taxation on investment income.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), in a floor speech delivered shortly before the legislation was posted, said the tax plan would disproportionately benefit the wealthy.

“The Republican tax plan would put two thumbs down on a scale already tipped toward the wealthy and powerful,” Schumer said.

“It wouldn’t help create jobs or raise wages.”

This article is republished with permission from Talk Media News