The U.S. House of Representatives early next week will hold a vote on H.R. 9, a bill introduced by Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) to provide a one-year, 20 percent tax deduction for business income. The Cantor bill is sadly just another tax windfall for the rich, financed by larger federal budget deficits, which largely misses its ostensible target of small businesses and wouldn’t create jobs.
As an economic strategy it’s one we’ve tried before and a failure we don’t want to repeat. Here are nine reasons why the House should reject H.R. 9:
- H.R. 9 is a giant windfall for the very wealthy, not an incentive for small-business job creation
- Half of H.R. 9’s tax cuts go to millionaires, not to business owners who would most benefit from a tax break
- H.R. 9 would benefit companies that eliminate or offshore jobs
- H.R. 9’s temporary tax break on business profits is a windfall, not an incentive
- H.R. 9 arbitrarily favors some businesses over others
- H.R. 9 encourages businesses to wait until next year to make investments
- H.R. 9 misdiagnoses the fundamental problem facing small businesses and the broader economy—a lack of demand
- H.R. 9 is the opposite of tax reform
- H.R. 9 is paid for by $46 billion in borrowed money
So let’s look at each of these reasons to reject the bill in turn.
SOURCE:
via Cantor’s ‘Small Business’ Bill is a $46 Billion Loophole for the Rich.