More than 400 wealthy and upper-income taxpayers have signed a letter calling on Congress to reject the Republican tax plan that gives tax cuts to millionaires and billionaires, especially any plan that is not revenue neutral, which would lead to deep cuts in services and critical investments, such as Medicaid, Medicare, and education.  

The letter is a joint effort by United for a Fair Economy’s Responsible Wealth project and Voices for Progress, two national groups of wealthy individuals who advocate for progressive policies.  The letter, signed by members of Responsible Wealth, Voices for Progress and others who are in the top 5% of the US economy by income and/or wealth, states, in part:

“As you consider changes to the tax code, we urge you to oppose any legislation that further exacerbates inequality. Tax reform should be, at a minimum, revenue neutral—without using gimmicks like dynamic scoring. We are deeply concerned that revenue loss would lead to deep cuts in critical services such as education, Medicare and Medicaid, and would hamper our nation’s ability to restore investments in our people and communities.

The Republican tax plan would disproportionately benefit wealthy individuals and corporations with provisions including repealing the estate tax, repealing the Alternative Minimum Tax, and slashing the top pass-through tax rate. This proposal would mean wealthy people could pay a lower tax rate than many middle-class families and transfer massive inheritances to their heirs tax-free. Such proposals that benefit the wealthy would exacerbate the current wealth disparity in the US, where the top 1% of households hold 42% of the wealth.”

The letter also explicitly objects to repeal of the estate tax, which already affects only the wealthiest 2 out of every 1,000 estates, and exempts estates with taxable assets of less than $10.98 million per couple.

Read the complete letter at http://www.responsiblewealth.org/read_the_letter.
Read all the media coverage of this letter so far.
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