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Articles by Galen Hendricks
Bank Tax Reporting Is a Critical Component of Biden’s Build Back Better Agenda
The United States will lose an estimated over the next decade from people and corporations not paying the taxes they owe. That is twice the $3.5 trillion of investments that Congress is now considering in the budget reconciliation bill. The richest 1 percent of taxpayers alone are responsible for an estimated $163 billion in unpaid taxes each year.
Addressing Tax System Failings That Favor Billionaires and Corporations
Issues [1] Introduction and summary Recent bombshell reports from ProPublica have confirmed what tax experts have long known and what many Americans have long suspected: Many of the country’s wealthiest people pay little or no tax because the U.S. system preferences income from wealth and offers the wealthy and corporations avenues to avoid tax that are not available to working people.1 These fundamental flaws in the tax code existed many years before the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA)...
The Child Tax Credit will keep millions of children out of poverty
It’s a big day for more than 39 million families with children across the country. Today, the IRS will begin the first-ever monthly installment of a newly expanded Child Tax Credit. The Child Tax Credit will cut child poverty significantly, meaningfully addressing racial disparities and vastly improving the lives of millions of children.
Congress Can’t Miss This Chance To Close the Biggest Tax Loophole for the Ultrawealthy
Wealth inequality in the United States has reached unprecedented levels, and the tax code’s favorable treatment of income from wealth is a contributing factor. A bombshell report from ProPublica on June 8 dramatically illustrates why: The country’s wealthiest people pay virtually no federal income tax on their massive accumulation of wealth. Congress has a golden opportunity this year to fix the tax code.
Biden’s Tax Enforcement Overhaul Would Be A Positive Step Toward Racial Equity
Despite the fact that the United States is losing an estimated $600 billion per year in unpaid taxes, IRS funding has fallen precipitously over the last decade, forcing the agency to shed a large share of its workforce, including 35 percent of revenue agents responsible for examining complex tax returns and conducting audits. Largely because of this steep drop in funding, the agency has dramatically reduced the audits that it conducts on high-income individuals and large corporations.
Now Is the Time To Permanently Expand the Child Tax Credit and Earned Income Tax Credit
For more on the child tax credit, please see “An Expanded Child Tax Credit Would Lift Millions of Children Out of Poverty.” Congress must not miss the opportunity to improve children’s lives and reduce economic and racial inequality. Read the issue brief For decades, the American economic system and other institutions meant to support economic mobility have largely failed the tens of millions of people in the country who experience poverty every year—and the U.S. tax code is no exception.
Stimulus payments via the child tax credit help families. Let's make its expansion permanent. Original
On Monday, the Biden administration demonstrated the kind of positive difference a smart approach to our tax system can make. Congress must now seize this opportunity to extend these benefits, and invest in future generations, by making these changes permanent. Starting July 15, the federal government will provide expanded child tax credit payments — and do so in the form of monthly installments through the end of this year.
Better Tax Enforcement Can Advance Fairness and Raise More Than $1 Trillion of Revenue
On March 31, 2021, President Joe Biden released his American Jobs Plan, proposing to ramp up investment in infrastructure and innovation to make the U.S. economy more productive while confronting climate change. In the coming weeks, he is expected to propose a similarly ambitious plan for investing in people and meeting human needs.
The Direct Cash Assistance and Tax Cuts in the American Rescue Plan Act
The American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) is on the verge of passage, as the U.S. Senate approved it on March 6. The House of Representatives is preparing for a vote today or tomorrow, March 9 or 10, setting it up for President Joe Biden’s signature. To provide desperately needed relief to struggling families and speed the economy’s recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, the bill includes an unprecedented amount of immediate cash relief and tax cuts to low- and middle-income families.
An Expanded Child Tax Credit Would Lift Millions of Children Out of Poverty
Currently, nearly 11 million—or 1 in 7—U.S. children live in poverty. By that measure, the United States compares dismally with other wealthy countries. Children under age 5 experience higher poverty rates than older children. Living in poverty during these critical years for brain development has been shown to have significant negative effects on the long-term well-being of children.
Short-Changed: How Tipped Work Exacerbates the Pay Gap for Latinas
Authors’ note: A Latinx person is any individual with Latin American roots. The term “Hispanic” refers to all Spanish-speaking people, including those from Spain. This piece uses “Hispanic” and “Latina” to reflect the underlying data source. The U.S. Census Bureau specifically asks if respondents identify as Spanish, Hispanic, or Latino in the Survey of Income and Program Participation survey, which was used for the analysis of income (including tips) in this column.
Cuatro Formas en que la Ley Tributaria de Trump Dejó Atrás a la Comunidad Latina
En julio de este año, cuando la tasa general de desempleo de los latinos era del 12,9 por ciento y la tasa de desempleo de las latinas era del 14 por ciento -ambas sustancialmente más altas que la tasa de desempleo concurrente de los blancos de un 9,2 por ciento-, el presidente Donald Trump comentó en una mesa redonda con líderes hispanos que su administración lo había “hecho muy bien con los hispanos”.
4 Ways Trump’s Tax Bill Left Behind the Latino Community
In July of this year, when the overall Latino unemployment rate was 12.9 percent and the unemployment rate for Latinas was 14 percent—both substantially higher than the concurrent white unemployment rate of 9.2 percent—President Donald Trump remarked at a roundtable with Hispanic leaders that his administration had “done really well with Hispanics.” But, in his nearly four years in office, President Trump has done nothing to address the Latino labor market gaps.
6 Ways the Trump Administration Is Rigging an Already Unfair Tax Code
The New York Times recently reported that President Donald Trump paid no income taxes for most of the last two decades and only $750 in 2016 and 2017—spotlighting how a wealthy and unscrupulous business owner can take advantage of a broken tax code and weak tax enforcement. Since taking office, President Trump’s administration has only made the tax code worse.
Capital Gains Tax Preference Should Be Ended, Not Expanded
In an era of profound inequality, few issues illustrate such stark differences in economic priorities as capital gains taxes. Capital gains accrue overwhelmingly to the wealthy and receive favorable tax treatment in several ways. Cutting capital gains taxes would confer another windfall on the wealthy, exacerbate the tax preference for income from wealth over income from work, increase inequality, and drain revenue.
IRS Budget Cuts Let Wealthy Tax Cheats Get Away With It
Over the past decade, Congress dramatically cut the IRS’ budget and with it, the agency’s capability to enforce the nation’s tax laws. New data released by the IRS, as well as reports from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) and U.S. Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA), underscore the toll that IRS budget cuts have taken.
How the Trump Administration’s Deregulation Agenda Has Worsened the Coronavirus Pandemic
In 2015, Donald Trump promised: “Everybody’s going to be taken care of much better than they’re taken care of now.” Yet, long before news of the COVID-19 outbreak reached the United States, the Trump administration had been dismantling policies and proposing new ones that have vastly exacerbated the coronavirus pandemic.
Observing Minimum Wage Workers’ Equal Pay Day
Today marks Minimum Wage Workers’ Equal Pay Day. A full-time minimum wage worker would need to work 54 days into this year—from January 1, 2019, to today, March 19, 2020—to earn their 2009 salary. The federal minimum wage has been stuck at $7.25 an hour since July 24, 2009—the longest period of time that the rate has stayed flat since its creation in 1938. In the nearly 11 years since it was last increased, the minimum wage has lost 17 percent of its purchasing power just because of inflation.
Trump’s Rumored ‘Tax Cuts 2.0’ Proposals Aren’t Focused on the Middle Class
In 2017, President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans enacted the so-called Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA)—a tax plan that was heavily skewed toward wealthy Americans. Ever since, they have been floating rumors about a new tax proposal, which they are calling “Tax Cuts 2.0.” This time, they say, the tax plan will actually be focused on the middle class. No specific plan has been released, but some of the White House’s policy discussions have leaked in the press.
OPINION: The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act two years later
Corporations, not workers, are the big winners By GALEN HENDRICKS and SETH HANLON On December 22, 2017, President Donald Trump signed into law the so-called Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), a $1.9 trillion tax bill favoring corporations and wealthy Americans. At its heart is a large cut in the corporate tax rate. “Corporations are literally going wild over this,” Trump said upon signing the bill.
Trump’s Corporate Tax Cut Is Not Trickling Down
Two years ago, President Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress cut the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 21 percent via the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA). At the time, the Trump administration claimed that its corporate tax cuts would increase the average household income in the United States by $4,000. But two years later, there is little indication that the tax cut is even beginning to trickle down in the ways its proponents claimed.
Trump’s Corporate Tax Cut Is Not Trickling Down
Two years ago, President Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress cut the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 21 percent via the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA). At the time, the Trump administration claimed that its corporate tax cuts would increase the average household income in the United States by $4,000. But two years later, there is little indication that the tax cut is even beginning to trickle down in the ways its proponents claimed.
America Can Do Big Things: A Budget Plan for a Better Future
This report contains an update. Introduction and summary Today, the United States finds itself at the crossroads of many economic, social, and global challenges. The past several decades have seen real wages for rank-and-file workers stagnate; income and wealth inequality rise; undue political power concentrate in the hands of the few; and the pace of productivity growth and overall economic growth slow.
Ending Special Tax Treatment for the Very Wealthy
Introduction and summary Over the past several decades, as concentrations of income and wealth have approached historic levels, taxes on the very wealthy have not kept up. In fact, taxes on the ultrarich have gone in the opposite direction.
Budgeting the Future
Introduction and summary The U.S. economy finds itself at a crossroads of overlapping challenges. Long-term productivity and economic growth are low, while income and wealth inequality are high. Meanwhile, the country faces a series of challenges: from collapsing economic security for middle- and working-class Americans to climate change and more. Addressing these challenges will undoubtedly require the deployment of significant federal resources since the private sector has failed to do so.
A strong estate tax will ensure equal treatment of wealth and wages
Inequality has increased tremendously over the past few decades as the wealthiest households continue to accumulate gains while stagnant wages for middle- and working-class Americans see an ever-diminishing slice of a growing pie. A significant portion of this situation can be attributed to the steady erosion of our tax code over the past few decades.
The State of the U.S. Labor Market: Pre-January 2019 Jobs Release
This column contains a correction. This Friday, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) will release employment data for January—the first release of 2019—marking two years since President Donald Trump took office. The data will be released just after the end of the longest government shutdown in U.S. history.
Federal Workers Miss Out on More Than $2 Billion for Every Missed Paycheck During Trump’s Shutdown
President Donald Trump has suggested his shutdown could last “for months or even a year or longer” due to his insistence on extorting taxpayer money for a border wall that the American public overwhelmingly opposes—one that he swore Mexico would pay for. The new Democratic House majority passed legislation to reopen the government, but there is no indication that the Republican-controlled Senate will agree to end this impasse soon.
One Year Later, the TCJA Fails to Live Up to Its Proponents' Promises
This issue brief contains a correction. On December 20, 2017, the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate passed a new tax law, commonly known as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA). Since the fall of 2017, the legislation, which provides huge tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations, has been consistently unpopular with voters. Its proponents, however, frequently pushed claims and promises that ranged from aggressive puffery to outright lies.
The tax cut isn’t trickling down to workers
Outside the Box Published: Dec. 3, 2018 at 2:05 p.m. ET By The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act isn’t just wasteful, it’s harming the economy and workers The tax cut isn’t helping anyone except the very rich. Spencer Platt/Getty Images Nearly one year ago, the Republican Congress passed and the president signed the controversial and partisan Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA).
The State of the Labor Market for Latinas: Pre-October Jobs Day Release
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics will release its monthly report with October’s jobs numbers on Friday, one day after Latina Equal Pay Day. Latinas—those with Hispanic origin in the Current Population Survey—experience one of the largest gender wage gaps among all women: Hispanic women who work full time, year-round earn just 53 cents for every dollar earned by white, non-Hispanic men also working full time, year-round.
The State of Youth in the U.S. Labor Market: Pre-September 2018 Jobs Day Release
Though the number of unemployed youth has inched down to below prerecession rates, many other indicators suggest that the employment situation for American youth is not so rosy. Though they’re the most educated compared with previous generations, 1 in 5 American adults ages 18 through 34 has student loan debt.
Americans Have Rejected the GOP’s Tax Scam—Congress Should Too - Center for American Progress
Later this week, the House of Representatives will vote on a second round of tax cuts once again favoring the rich. This new tax plan is a sequel to the tax law that the Republican-led Congress enacted in December, which is informally known as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA). The TCJA was badly skewed to wealthy Americans, exacerbating the decades-long trend toward greater inequality of income and wealth. The law created new loopholes for well-heeled taxpayers to exploit.
The Tax Bill That Would Launch More Than 13,000 Yachts
The current congressional majority has made its priorities painfully clear. In 2017, the legislative calendar was dominated by an attempt to strip health care from millions of people in order to provide significant tax cuts to the wealthy. When that failed, Congress turned to a tax bill known as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA), which was essentially a corrupt giveaway that provided massive windfalls to wealthy donors, special interests, and members of Congress themselves.
Indexing Capital Gains to Inflation Will Only Further Rig the Economy Against Workers
The Trump administration’s most notable legislative passage has been the massive tax plan enacted at the behest of its political donors. The tax cuts, heavily skewed to corporations and the wealthy, will cost nearly $2 trillion over the next decade.
The State of the LGBTQ Community in the Labor Market: Pre-June 2018 Jobs Day Release
Tomorrow, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics will release its employment numbers for the month of June, which is National LGBTQ Pride Month. Since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marry in 2015, support for marriage equality in the United States has continued to grow among the public. However, LGBTQ people are still susceptible to discrimination in many areas of life and experience poverty at higher rates compared with their non-LGBTQ peers.
Congress Should Not Give a Second Helping of Tax Cuts to the Rich
President Donald Trump and House Republicans are reportedly bringing forward “round two” of their tax plan in the coming months—a sequel to the tax law they enacted in December 2017. That law, informally known as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), is enriching the wealthiest Americans while inflating federal deficits and raising health care costs for working families.
Tax Cuts for the Top 1 Percent Cost More Than SNAP
The recently passed 2017 tax legislation, commonly referred to as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, provided a massive windfall to wealthy individuals and large corporations. According to estimates from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, the richest 1 percent of households, those with incomes higher than $607,090, stand to receive a total tax cut of more than $84 billion in 2019 alone.
The State of the U.S. Labor Market: Pre-January 2018 Jobs Release - Center for American Progress
This Friday, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) will release employment data for January. This will be the last jobs day with Janet Yellen as chair of the Federal Reserve Board, as her term expires on February 3. The Federal Open Market Committee met just days before the job release and decided not to raise interest rates. This is good news for America’s most disadvantaged workers who benefit from a tight labor market.
State of the Union Preview: Trump Is Rigging the Economy Against Workers and the Middle Class - Center for American Progress
In his State of the Union address on Tuesday, President Donald Trump is sure to point to stock indexes and other positive economic indicators as evidence of a “Trump boom.” But to the extent that middle-class and working families are doing better economically, it is not because of Trump or his policies; rather, it is in spite of them. Instead of fighting for American workers, as he promised to do during his presidential campaign, Trump has sought in numerous ways to disempower them.
Not in a Million Years: The House’s Proposed Windfall for Donors - Center for American Progress
Congressional proponents of the House Republicans’ tax plan, called the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, claim that it will benefit the middle class. But in reality, it is a huge giveaway to the donor class—including a handful of top donors who have bankrolled the campaigns of Republican leaders in Congress. In fact, just the bill’s estate tax cuts alone would allow the families of 11 prominent donors, listed below, to pocket up to $67.5 billion.
Kansas 'Real Live Experiment' in Trickle-Down Tax Cuts - Center for American Progress
“Our new pro-growth tax policy will be like a shot of adrenaline into the heart of the Kansas economy. It will pave the way to the creation of tens of thousands of new jobs…” “This huge tax cut … will be rocket fuel for our economy. … The biggest winners from this transformation will be everyday families, from all backgrounds, from all walks of life, and our great companies, which will produce the jobs.
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