Trump tax plan favors top 1%, could mean tax increase for 1 of 8 in Wisconsin

Top 1% would reap 61 percent of value of tax cuts

The new Trump tax deal is looking like it’s maybe not such a great one for middle income earners.

That, according to Jon Peacock, who heads the Wisconsin Budget Project. He says President Donald Trump’s tax plan mostly helps the top 1 percent.

That’s a group, Peacock admits, that does carry most of the overall income tax burden in the nation.

“They do pay more but when you look at the distribution of these cuts, relative to income, they still come out with a disproportionate share,” Peacock explained.

The Wisconsin Budget Project found that provisions of the Trump tax plan would mean the top 1 percent would reap 61 percent of the value of the tax cuts. Provisions like dumping the estate tax and dropping the corporate tax rate from 35 to 20 percent.

That corporate tax cut appears to be one that is already getting push back even from some Republicans in Congress.

Peacock also said that 1 of 8 in Wisconsin would actually pay more taxes under the plan.

Tweaks to the plan likely won’t do much, either, Peacock added.

“There are some things you could do,” he said. “Make it less skewed, like not repealing the federal estate tax, which only affects the very very wealthy.”

The plan would also not do any good for the nation’s currently staggering debt load.

“You could tweak it so that there are fewer losers but, in the process, there’s going to be an even bigger increase in the federal deficit,” Peacock said.