FACT CHECK: Tax Bill GOP Candidates Support Hurts Montana

1. The partisan tax bill added more than $1.5 trillion to the debt.
2. The partisan tax bill will kick 46,000 Montanans off their insurance, threatens cuts to Medicare and Social Security, and included provisions that will raise Montana’s health insurance premiums.
3. The tax bill saves health care companies billions of dollars, but instead of lowering premiums and lowering costs for patients, companies are paying off their debt and buying back their own shares.
4. The tax bill will increase taxes on tens of thousands of working Montanans while making the wealthiest Americans and corporations receive even more tax cuts.

Background:

REPUBLICAN TAX PLAN WILL ADD OVER $1.5 TRILLION TO OUR NATIONAL DEBT

HEADLINE: “Final Tax Bill Could End Up Costing $2.2 Trillion.” [Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, 12/18/17]

University Of Pennsylvania Study: Republican Tax Plan “Increases Debt By Between $1.9 Trillion To $2.2 Trillion Over The Next Decade.” [Penn Wharton Budget Model, University of Pennsylvania, 12/15/17]

• Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget: Final Republican Tax Plan Could Add Between $1.5 Trillion And $2.2 Trillion To The Deficit. [Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, 12/18/17]
• FactCheck.Org: “Correct” That Republican Tax Plan Would Increase The Deficit By At Least $1.5 Trillion. [FactCheck.Org, 3/7/18]

REPUBLICAN TAX PLAN THREATENS CUTS TO MEDICARE AND SOCIAL SECURITY, WILL KICK 46,000 MONTANANS OFF THEIR HEALTH CARE AND RAISE PREMIUMS

REPUBLICAN TAX PLAN WAS EXPECTED TO LEAD TO DRAMATIC CUTS IN PROGRAMS LIKE MEDICARE AND SOCIAL SECURITY

AARP: Republican Tax Bill Will Likely Lead To “Dramatic Cuts” To Medicare And Medicaid And Other Programs Serving Older Americans. [News Release, AARP, 12/18/17]

HEADLINE: “After Tax Overhaul, GOP Sets Sights On Medicare, Social Security.” [U.S. News & World Report, 12/7/17]

U.S. News & World Report: “The Most Likely Targets For Cuts And Restructuring In The Coming Months Are Likely To Be Medicare And Social Security Benefits.” [U.S. News & World Report, 12/7/17]

• New York Times: “Marco Rubio…[Told] Business Leaders That The Tax Cuts Were Just The First Step; The Next Is To Reshape Social Security And Medicare For Future Retirees.” [New York Times, 12/2/17]
• Paul Ryan: “We’re Going To Have To Get Back Next Year At Entitlement Reform, Which Is How You Tackle The Debt And The Deficit…It’s The Health Care Entitlements That Are The Big Drivers Of Our Debt.” [Washington Post, 12/6/17]
• Republican Joint Economic Committee Report: “Ultimately Entitlement Reform Is Necessary To Reverse The Unsustainable Trajectory” Of Federal Debt. [Joint Economic Committee, 3/13/18]

Modern Health Care: Final GOP Tax Bill Could Force Congress To “Slash Healthcare Spending,” Forcing Big Cuts To Medicaid, ACA Subsidies And Other Federal And State Health Care Programs. [Modern Healthcare, 12/15/17]

REPUBLICAN TAX PLAN WOULD LEAD TO 46,000 FEWER MONTANANS WITH HEALTH INSURANCE AND WOULD INCREASE PREMIUMS BY $2,100 FOR SOME MONTANA FAMILIES

Center for American Progress: Republican Tax Plan Would Increase The Number Of Uninsured in Montana By 46,000, Raise Marketplace Premiums By $2,100 Average For Some Montana Families. [Center for American Progress, 11/16/17; PBS NewsHour, 12/14/17]

• Montana Budget & Policy Center: Republican Tax Plan Was “A Direct Attack On The Health Care Coverage Of Montanans” That Would Increase The Number Of Uninsured And Hike Premiums By 10 Percent. [Montana Budget & Policy Center, 12/14/17]

HEALTH INSURANCE COMPANIES ARE USING BILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN REPUBLICAN TAX CUTS TO ENRICH EXECUTIVES, NOT TO LOWER PREMIUMS AND COSTS FOR PATIENTS

HEADLINE: “The Tax Overhaul Is Actually A Big Win For Insurers And Drugmakers.” [Washington Post, 12/20/17]

Washington Post: Republican Tax Plan “A Pretty Big Boon” For The Health Insurance Industry, Expected To Reap “The Biggest Benefits” From Its Corporate Tax Cut. [Washington Post, 12/20/17]

• Washington Post: “Here’s An Effect Of The Tax Overhaul That Is Clearer: It Means More Money In The Pockets Of Insurers And Probably Drugmakers, Too.” [Washington Post, 12/20/17]

HEADLINE: “Tax Cuts Will Save Health Care Companies Billions — But Not Patients.” [Axios, 3/5/18]

Axios: “Health Care Companies Will Add Tens Of Billions Of Dollars To Their Bottom Lines This Year Thanks To…The Republican Tax Cut Package. But Only A Fraction Of That Money Will Benefit Patients.” [Axios, 3/5/18]

• Axios: “Even Though A Lower Corporate Tax Rate Frees Up More Cash For A Health Care System That More Patients Are Finding Increasingly Unaffordable, Patients Should Not Expect The Health Industry’s Windfall To Lead To Lower Premiums [Or] Reduced Price.” [Axios, 3/5/18]

Axios: “Most Of” The Estimated $10 Billion Tax Cut Expected By 21 Health Care Companies From The Republican Tax Bill Was Going To “Share Buybacks, Dividends, Acquisitions, And Paying Down Debt.” [Axios, 3/5/18]

• Axios: “A Majority Of UnitedHealth’s Windfall Is Going To Wall Street And Executives…Even Health Care Companies That Didn’t Forecast Specific Tax Savings Nevertheless Made It Clear Wall Street Will Get Its Fill.” [Axios, 3/5/18]

University of Michigan Health Care Business Professor: Republican Tax Bill “Unlikely To Lead To Significant, Long-Lasting Savings For Patients.” [Axios, 3/5/18]

REPUBLICAN TAX PLAN WOULD RAISE TAXES ON MONTANANS WHILE CUTTING TAXES FOR THE WEALTHY AND ENRICHING CORPORATE EXECUTIVES

REPUBLICAN TAX PLAN WOULD RAISE TAXES ON TENS OF THOUSANDS OF MONTANANS

Institute On Taxation And Economic Policy: Republican Tax Bill Would Give Large Tax Cuts To Wealthy Montanans, Raise Taxes On Nearly 70,000 Low- And Middle-Income Residents. [Montana, Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, 12/16/17]

• Institute On Taxation And Economic Policy: “Tax Cuts In The Bill Are Tilted Dramatically In Favor Of The Richest Montana Residents While The Tax Increases Fall More Heavily On Lower-Income Montana Families.” [Montana, Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, 12/16/17]

HEADLINE: “How A New Inflation Measure Would Raise Taxes On The Middle Class.” [Wall Street Journal, 11/15/17]

Washington Post: “Republicans Are Paying For A Permanent Cut For Corporations With An Under-The-Radar Tax Increase On Individuals,” Adopting An Inflation Measure That “Effectively Means People Will Enter Higher [Tax] Brackets Faster.” [Washington Post, 12/16/17]

• Wall Street Journal: Republican Tax Plan Income Bracket Threshold Inflation Adjustment “Becomes A Significant Tax Increase That Hits Many…Middle-Class Households.” [Wall Street Journal, 11/15/17]
• Center on Budget and Policy Priorities: Republican Tax Plan “Permanently Erodes” Earned Income Tax Credit By Adopting Chained CPI To Adjust Tax Brackets. [Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 12/21/17]

REPUBLICAN TAX PLAN INCLUDED NEW TAX CUT FOR THE WEALTHIEST AMERICANS

Fortune: Republican Tax Bill Cut Income Tax Rates “For The Richest Americans.” [Fortune, 12/16/17]

Washington Post: Final Republican Tax Plan Included “A New Tax Cut For The Rich” That Amounted To “A Significant Tax Break For The Very Wealthy.” [Washington Post, 12/15/17]

CORPORATIONS USED REPUBLICAN TAX CUTS TO ENRICH SENIOR EXECUTIVES

HEADLINE: “Trump’s Tax Cuts in Hand, Companies Spend More on Themselves Than on Wages.” [New York Times, 2/26/18]

HEADLINE: “Tax Cut Scoreboard: Workers $6 Billion; Shareholders $171 Billion.” [CNN, 2/16/18]

HEADLINE: “Stock Buybacks Enrich The Bosses Even When Business Sags.” [Reuters, 12/10/15]

New York Times: Corporations Used “Much Of The Money” From The Republican Tax Plan To Buy Their Own Shares, With Nearly 100 Corporations Announcing More Than $178 Billion In Planned Buybacks. [New York Times, 2/26/18]

• New York Times: “The Buybacks Are Also Most Likely To Worsen Economic Inequality Because The Benefits Of Stocks Purchases Flow Disproportionately To The Richest Americans.” [New York Times, 2/26/18]
• New York Times: “The Vast Majority Of The Billions Of Dollars In Planned Share Purchases Will Benefit The Richest 10 Percent Of American Households, Who Own 84 Percent Of All Stocks.” [New York Times, 2/26/18]
• Reuters: “Massive Stock Repurchases Are…Contributing To Widening Income Inequality By Rewarding Executives With Ever Higher Pay, Often Divorced From A Company’s Underlying Performance.” [Reuters, 12/10/15]