Barr lauds tax reform in visit with local business owners
Barr met with several business owners and others Tuesday at Davis Law Office in
Comments on the tax act were overwhelmingly positive, with attendees touting the ability to grow their business, higher take-home pay and advantages of a simplified filing process.
Throughout the roundtable, and in an interview with The Register prior to, Barr stuck to the talking points conveyed by many supporters of the Act.
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Barr said the
"That means they can save a little more for retirement; that means they can save a little more for college," Barr said. "Or maybe that just means they can take a vacation."
All income groups will see a tax reduction, both in 2018 when the initial provisions take effect and in 2025, when many of the Act's cuts expire, according to an analysis by The Tax Policy Center. But higher-income households will receive larger cuts on average as a percent of after-tax income, with the largest cuts as a share of income going to taxpayers in the 95th to 99th percentiles of income distribution, the analysis found.
The bigger advantage for higher-income earners will grow in 2027 due to the 2025 expiration of many of the cuts but retention of the provision changing the indexing of tax brackets to the chained Consumer Price Index. Experts have calculated that the tax increases brought on by chained indexing will be bigger in percentage terms for those near the bottom of the income distribution than for those at the top.
But Barr said he has sponsored a bill this legislative session that would make many of the cuts in the tax reform permanent, and asserted that lower- and middle-income Americans are benefitting.
"Middle-class families with kids are really big winners," he said.
Though many analyses have estimated the tax reform Barr voted for will add about
"The main thing that we need to recognize is that of course we need to reduce the deficit" he said. "Every year in Congress I've voted for a balanced budget."
The Congressman said "spending discipline" also is crucial.
"I take a back seat to no one when it comes to being fiscally responsible," Barr said. "That's one of the reasons I ran for
The comments at Tuesday's roundtable, whose attendees included newly appointed
A real estate agent said his agency has seen an uptick in customers looking to buy investment property. The agency has sold five single-family homes in the
"It's a big thing for us," Skipworth said. "We know there's somebody out there who wants us to succeed."
"That aspect maybe isn't getting talking about enough," he said.
The simplification is expected to lead to greater tax compliance, particularly for lower- and middle-income earners, Barr said.
Some higher-income earners could be hit by a provision of the act that limits the deduction for state, local and property taxes to
Another CPA with the same firm,
The Act cuts the corporate tax rate for C corporations from 36 percent to 21 percent, a move that could prompt some local businesses to switch to that business type, though the provision of the Act that imposes a 15 percent tax on dividend payments might be a deterrence to some doing so, Foley said.
But corporations across the nation are expecting huge tax savings, prompting some to announce bonuses or raises for employees, citing tax savings as the impetus.
"We received a letter from 137 economists that told us the Act would result in much higher wages," Barr said.
Other businesses, those with "pass-through" income (income that flows through the business to owners to be taxed under the individual income tax), will see tax savings as well. The Act allows for a 20 percent deduction of the first
Bar said that provision is a big deal for those "
"We created a precedent that hasn't existed before in the tax code," he said. "We just need to build on that precedent."
According to the
Barr, who filed for re-election for the Sixth District Congressional seat on
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