WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-Md.), a member of the Senate Finance Committee that has oversight for tax policy, responded to the tax plan released by the House of Representatives Republican leadership on Thursday with the following statement.

“The Republican tax plan misses the mark on so many levels but at its core it fails because tax reform should be focused on middle-income Americans and not the top 1 percent. Republicans seem intent on doing all they can to blow a hole in our budget, adding trillions of dollars to the national deficit. Their plan fails to target the bulk of permanent tax relief to those families who really need it and it locks in tax cuts for corporations. It repeals key benefits related to education, medical expenses, and state and local taxes. We need to be putting more money into the pockets of working families and small businesses because that is how our economy grows stronger. Once again, Republicans talk a good game about protecting the middle class and bipartisanship but their plan does not do what they say it does – and, since Day One, they have pushed Democrats away from all stages of this process. 

“No one likes to pay taxes, but we pay them to cover the cost of important things. Things like defending our nation, building roads and schools, and recovery after devastating tragedies like hurricanes, floods, and droughts. Our taxes support law enforcement. They fund life-saving research at places like the National Institutes of Health and protect our national parks. Democrats and Republicans often disagree about what government should and should not pay for. But, we all agree that our tax system has gotten too complicated and is not working for our constituents. We need a systemic change, but this Republican plan is not the change we need. I urge my colleagues to scrap this deficit-busting, double-taxing scheme and work with Democrats to develop an honest tax reform plan that truly benefits the American people and not just the privileged few.” 

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