The Republicans thought they could hand out huge permanent tax cuts to corporations and the wealthy and cover them up with smaller tax cuts that expire for middle and lower-income Americans.
It didn’t work.
Public perception of Trump’s tax cuts for the rich has been dropping steadily. Just one in three Americans (34%) support the new law.
And now opposition is coming from Trump’s strongest defenders: the religious right.
As it turns out, there’s a hidden, hefty tax on religious organizations, something they’ve never seen before.
And they’re furious.
Churches, synagogues, mosques, and other faith-based nonprofits will have to pay a 21 percent tax on the benefits they offer employees, like gym memberships, parking, and even meals.
Politico reports “many organizations are still unaware of the tax,” and “more than 600 churches and other groups have already signed a petition demanding it be repealed.”
Mike Batts, chairman of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability, calls the Republican tax “absurd.”
And the vice president of government relations at the National Association of Evangelicals, a group of evangelical Christian organizations, says, “we don’t need this kind of hassle.”
“There’s going to be huge headaches,” Galen Carey told Politico. “The cost of compliance, especially for churches that have small staffs or maybe volunteer accountants and bookkeepers — we don’t need this kind of hassle.”
At least one Republican lawmaker is trying to repeal the tax. If the bill is signed into law, it will cost American taxpayers $40 billion over the next decade.
Photo: December 21, 2017 – President Donald J. Trump celebrates the passage of the Tax Cuts Act.
Image via Flickr