*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.
Four men were charged Monday over the theft of an 18-carat gold toilet from Blenheim Palace, the sprawling English country mansion where British wartime leader Winston Churchill was born.
Donald Trump began testifying Monday morning in his civil fraud trial, producing the spectacle of a former president and the leading Republican presidential candidate defending himself against allegations that he dramatically inflated his net worth.
The most-watched races in Tuesday’s off-year general election have all been dominated by the ongoing debate over abortion rights.
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds is reportedly planning to endorse Florida Gov. Ron Desantis in the Republican primary.
The endorsement could give DeSantis' campaign a boost as he struggles to show progress against Donald Trump in the Republican primary.
With Donald Trump due on the witness stand next week, testimony from his adult sons in his civil business fraud trial wrapped up Friday with Eric Trump saying he relied completely on accountants and lawyers to assure the accuracy of financial documents key to the case.
The watchdog office overseeing the National Science Foundation is sending investigators to Antarctica's McMurdo Station after hearing concerns about the prevalence of sexual violence at the U.S. research base.
Frederico Klein, a former State Department official, was sentenced to nearly six years in prison after being found guilty on several counts including assault of multiple police officers at the Capitol on Jan. 6.
President Joe Biden and First lady Jill Biden are traveling to Lewiston Maine to pay their respects to the people who were killed there in a mass shooting last week.
The House approved a nearly $14.5 billion military aid package Thursday for Israel, a muscular U.S. response to the war with Hamas but also a partisan approach by new Speaker Mike Johnson that poses a direct challenge to Democrats and President Joe Biden.
