Trump Tax Plan Would Give Richest Maine Taxpayers an Average $53,000 Tax Cut and Trigger Deep Cuts to Federal Dollars for Maine
AUGUSTA, MANE (July 20, 2017) – A new analysis from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy reveals a federal tax reform plan based on President Trump’s April outline would fail to deliver on its promise of helping middle-class taxpayers, showering three out of every five dollars of the total tax cut on the richest 1 percent nationwide. In Maine, the top 1 percent of the state’s residents would receive an average tax cut of $53,000 compared with an average tax cut of $400 for the bottom 60 percent of taxpayers in the state.
The 50-state analysis examines the overall effect of the Trump tax plan on federal revenue as well as its impact on taxpayers in each of the 50 states. The Trump tax plan is expected to be the model for the House GOP budget proposal set in motion yesterday when it passed out of the budget committee.
Over the next decade, the plan is projected to lose $4.8 trillion in federal revenue and require deep cuts to basic health and education programs that Mainers count on. A tax cut of this magnitude could eliminate 90% of Medicaid spending over the next decade or cut defense spending by 2/3rds in order to pay for it. More realistically the cuts would require deep cuts to a broad array of important programs, causing harm to working families, seniors, and the disabled.
“All too often, federal and state policymakers talk about tax cuts as if they don’t have consequences,” said Sarah Austin, policy analyst at the Maine Center for Economic Policy. “But the truth is, tax cuts that largely benefit the wealthy would come with a heavy cost. Reducing investments in health care, education, food assistance, disability insurance, and other programs is too steep a price to pay just so the richest one percent can get a tax cut that is larger than the household income of the average working family.”
For a more detailed breakdown of how the tax plan would affect Maine taxpayers, go to: http://itep.org/trumptaxprelim/
About MECEP
The Maine Center for Economic Policy is a nonpartisan policy research organization
that provides citizens, policymakers, advocates, and media with credible and rigorous
economic analysis that advances economic justice and prosperity for all Maine people.
