(The Center Square) – An Illinois congressman is urging lawmakers to extend President Donald Trump’s 2017 tax cuts.
Many provisions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act are set to expire at the end of this year including the current individual tax brackets and standard deduction.
During a recent U.S. Ways and Means Committee hearing, Illinois U.S. Rep. Darin LaHood, R-Peoria, said the legislation has been beneficial for the U.S. economy.
“It is the most important and most impactful vote I have taken,” said LaHood. “It created the best economy of my lifetime. Higher wages, record employment, record number of investments in small and medium-sized businesses. It created a booming economy.”
During the presidential campaign, Trump also dangled a host of additional cuts to everyone from tipped workers, vowing to eliminate taxes on tips, to senior citizens, promising to eliminate taxes on Social Security income.
Michelle Gallagher, a certified public accountant, testified that making TCJA provisions permanent should be priority number one.
“Frequent or last-minute changes to the tax code create tremendous uncertainty, making it difficult for taxpayers to plan for the future,” said Gallagher. “Without clarity, businesses and families are likely to delay or forgo investments like hiring more workers, increasing salaries, upgrading business equipment, purchasing a first home, or opening a new college savings account for their children, which could stall economic growth and depress job creation.”
Gallagher also said that if the act expires, the lifetime estate and gift tax exemption would be slashed, hurting farmers.
The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities argued the 2017 law benefited high-income households far more than households with low and moderate incomes.
Republicans have a majority in the U.S. House and Senate, as they did in 2017 when Congress passed TCJA, so odds of extending the tax cuts are in Trump’s favor.