Don’t Want Higher Taxes? Don’t Let the TCJA Expire

In a country that may feel increasingly divided, there is still at least one issue we all can stand behind together: Washington shouldn’t be raising anyone’s taxes. Keeping more of the money you work hard for is key to preserving the American Dream, especially for Hispanic families in Pennsylvania.

How Trump cut everyone’s taxes

The 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) provided tax cuts that increased the standard deduction for families, lowered the tax burden on small businesses, and put more money back in the hands of Pennsylvanians. With 1 in 4 new businesses being Latino-owned and Latinos contributing $53.2 billion in economic growth to Pennsylvania, the TCJA was vital to many Hispanic families in the commonwealth. With the TCJA in effect, we saw the lowest overall unemployment rate as a whole in 50 years with the Hispanic unemployment rate reaching historic lows too. 

But the TCJA tax cuts are set to expire at the end of this year. We are in for a whirlwind of economic hurt if that happens. If those tax cuts expire, Americans can expect a massive raise in their tax bills, lost jobs, and slowed economic growth. While we still reel from the destructive power of Bidenomics and record inflation, a giant tax hike is the last thing Pennsylvania needs.  

Without the TCJA tax cuts, the average Pennsylvania family will see their taxes increase by over $2,300. That’s on top of the more than $28,000 of extra spending the average family is paying due to inflation since January 2021.   

How are Pennsylvania families, who are already struggling to pay our rent, fill our gas tanks, and keep food on the table supposed to work with thousands less in our take home pay?

Small businesses benefited, too – and provided jobs

And the hardship won’t stop there. Our individual paychecks will look smaller and tax bills bigger, but we could stand to see our jobs or job prospects eliminated as well. With expiration of the TCJA tax cuts comes an expiration of tax cuts on small business owners as well.  

Companies around the country announced job creation, bonuses, higher wages, investment in domestic production and more with the tax cuts in 2017. More than 8,600 jobs were added in Pennsylvania in 2018 alone, and Keystone State businesses cite the TCJA as the driver of job creation and employee raises. We can expect the inverse of that if taxes go back up. 

Raising businesses’ taxes will cost the commonwealth over 33,000 jobs and lead to a tax hike for nearly 72% of Latino businesses. That includes businesses like my own small marketing firm and the small, Hispanic owned businesses in your own neighborhood. Prices will likely go up too to cover the increase in taxes. 

If Congress doesn’t act, the TCJA tax cuts will expire at the end of the year and tax rates will go back to pre-2017 levels. Taxes will increase. Americans will have less money in their pockets. Unemployment could rise. Hispanic families will feel the squeeze of higher taxes on top of already sky-high prices.

Make those tax cuts permanent

Letting the TCJA lapse will be the largest tax hike in American history. But the solution is easy – pass an extension or make the tax cuts permanent. This is an easy win for Congress and has wide bipartisan support from the American people. 

Recent polling shows a whopping 90% of voters believe tax rates should stay at current levels. The vast majority of Americans across the political spectrum believe that allowing the tax cuts to expire counts as a tax increase, which it is. 76% of voters say now is not the time to increase taxes. Amongst Hispanics, 80% believe they are paying too much in taxes, and 92% would keep rates where they are. 

Members of Congress would be wise to listen to what Americans want, keep our taxes from going up, and seek our reforms that are pro-growth and pro-business in the future. By keeping taxes low, Washington lawmakers will make it easier for Pennsylvania families to enjoy increased opportunity and prosperity. 

This article was originally published by RealClearPennsylvania and made available via RealClearWire.