Republican-led Congress passes new tax bill

Written by Zayne Giertuga, Staff Writer

Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, along with the entire House of Representatives, passed a tax bill onto President Donald Trump. The President signed the bill, and it is passed to the judicial branch where they will interpret the bill before it becomes a law.

What exactly is the tax bill and what will it do? It lowers the corporate tax bill from 35% to 21%; the standard deduction doubles to $4,050 per member of the household; doubles child tax credit; lowers medical expenses; and reduces state and local tax deduction. If that all sounds confusing, it means tax deductions can net American families more money, which in turn leads to more money in the economy. This new tax bill has major benefits to everyone, including major corporations. More corporations are likely to move back to the U.S., which leads to economic gain.

Critics argue that companies can use this bill and find loopholes and pay less; however, many companies would save more money by moving to the U.S. instead of paying import taxes. Companies can and will find loopholes, but they would be far and few.

The average middle class family would benefit the most. Larger families would benefit due to increased tax credit per child. Medical expenses are lowered, which helps low-income to upper-class families alike.

Because of lower medical expenses, people are more willing to buy health insurance, which can lead to even bigger economic growth. Inflation is also slowed down. This means that people with Social Security payments would rise slower than the normal inflation rate.

Overall, this tax bill is the biggest legislative advancement President Trump has made during his time in office. Because of this, it would be interesting to see what the government does next to help the country’s economy grow.