CNN debunks myth that GOP tax plans help the middle class, outlining “tax gifts for the wealthy”

Christine Romans: “Wall Street doesn't see this as a middle-class tax cut. Wall Street sees this as a Wall Street tax cut”

From the December 4 edition of CNN Newsroom:

Video file

CHRISTINE ROMANS: Big corporate, permanent corporate tax cuts are the cornerstone of both versions. Make no mistake, there is no guarantee it will add jobs or raise wages and both plans add to the deficit. Let's zero-in on the Senate bill. A score from Congress itself finds winners and losers in every tax bracket, and the losers grow over time. For Americans making the median income, 81 percent get a tax cut in 2019. By the year 2027, only 14 percent still have a tax cut, and a fourth -- 26 percent -- pay more. The biggest tax cuts go to the top earners. Other tax goodies for the top: repealing or adjusting the alternative minimum and estate taxes, and preserving the carried interest deduction that's mainly used by hedge fund and private equity managers and real estate developers.

[...]

POPPY HARLOW (CO-HOST): And, there's no mandate on what they have to do with all that extra money coming over. Zero, zilch, nothing.

ROMANS: None. So, you're taking it on faith that they're going to take that money -- the CEOs -- and create jobs or raise wages. And when we've asked those CEOs on the conference calls for their earnings, they have said no, they're going to give it back to share buy-backs and dividends.

HARLOW: Right, which has happened in history almost every single time. But, really quickly, didn't the president say a while ago that hedge fund folks were getting away with murder? And now they get to keep the carried interest loophole.

ROMANS: Again and again. They get to keep the carried interest. They get to keep the carried interest. Now, the president also over the weekend said he'd be OK with a 22 percent corporate tax rate. Clearly, Wall Street isn't concerned about 22 percent either because it's still up.

JOHN BERMAN (CO-HOST): It's big no matter what, they never care.

ROMANS: Well, Wall Street doesn't see this as a middle-class tax cut. Wall Street sees this as a Wall Street tax cut.

Previously:

CNN's Brianna Keilar explains how GOP tax plans are “propped up by, frankly, dishonest math”

MSNBC hosts outline how GOP tax plan directly benefits Trump and the super rich

Three lies about the Senate Republican tax plan that journalists need to correct

4 ways right-wing media are shilling for tax reform (and why they're wrong)