*By Justin Chermol*
According to House Ways and Means Committee Member Judy Chu, the GOP "made false claims" about the tax bill that passed in December of 2017 and is taking effect this tax season.
"They said things like the American public would get on the average a $4,000 per person increase. Well, that is certainly not the case. There are many Americans that will not have enough, and will actually pay more in taxes than what they originally thought," Chu, a California Democrat, told Cheddar.
As the first tax season impacted by the reform legislation got underway, many Americans were surprised by receiving smaller refunds than expected ーor by getting tax bills. In many cases, the difference was due to a change in IRS withholding tables that left more money in people's paychecks while shrinking the size of their refunds. In other cases, the actual tax bill increased due to changes to the law like a new cap on property and local income tax deductions.
Chu blames the confusion on the rushedー and secretive ー nature of the legislation.
"I think that the tax bill was done haphazardly, in the dead of night. In fact, it was done in 51 days, there were virtually no hearings on this, and people didn't have a chance to even really look at it before it was passed by Republicans," she said. "So as a result, it was not planned for properly."
In response, the #GOPTaxScam hashtag has resurfaced on social media platforms in recent weeks.
Chu said she is also hearing that outrage directly from constituents.
"I've had letters from my constituents saying that they have to pay $3,000 more on their taxes ー something that really upsets them and really hurts their budget," Chu told Cheddar.
Now that Democrats have gained control of the House, Chu said there are plans to revisit the legislation.
"We want to have hearings right away about the true impact of tax law," she said.
For President Donald Trump, tariffs — or the threat of them — can bend nations to his will.
President Donald Trump said he has decided to lower his combined tariff rates on imports of Chinese goods to 47% after talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on curbing fentanyl trafficking.
The Federal Reserve cut its key interest rate Wednesday for a second time this year as it seeks to shore up economic growth and hiring even as inflation stays elevated. The move comes amid a fraught time for the central bank, with hiring sluggish and yet inflation stuck above the Fed’s 2% target. Compounding its challenges, the central bank is navigating without much of the economic data it typically relies on from the government. The Fed has signaled it may reduce its key rate again in December but the data drought raises the uncertainty around its next moves. Fed Chair Jerome Powell told reporters that there were “strongly differing views” at the central bank's policy meeting about to proceed going forward.
U.S. and Chinese officials say a trade deal between the world’s two largest economies is drawing closer. The sides have reached an initial consensus for President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping to aim to finalize during their high-stakes meeting Thursday in South Korea. Any agreement would be a relief to international markets. Trump's treasury secretary says discussions with China yielded preliminary agreements to stop the precursor chemicals for fentanyl from coming into the United States. Scott Bessent also says Beijing would make “substantial” purchases of soybean and other agricultural products while putting off export controls on rare earth elements needed for advanced technologies.
A new poll finds most U.S. adults are worried about health care becoming more expensive.
The White House budget office says mass firings of federal workers have started in an attempt to exert more pressure on Democratic lawmakers as the government shutdown continues.
