[lbo-talk] Tax cut eliminates low-income credits

[Max B. Sawicky]

But, regardless of the details in reporting, isn't the point really that
part of the package, skewed as it is towards dividend and capital gains tax
reductions ($149 out of $350 billion worth), provided a very minor (almost
cosmetic) concession to the greater population via this child tax credit,
and then reneged.

So, though not cutting an existing credit, the final version did reduce a
throw-it-in-as-a-bone tax credit measure for millions of people in the final
moments, right?
Nomi

Sure.

What happened exactly is that the primary sponsors of
the credit -- Olympia Snowe in particular -- were not
supportive of the general effort.  They would not
support a tax bill over $350 b and made things more
difficult for the R's, so they weren't included in
the final package.  It's standard victor-spoils
legislative behavior.  In this sense, they have
nothing to complain about.

In the broader political sense, as I said, the tax bill
as a whole is an atrocity and the omission of the CTC
expansion (delay, actually) helps to illuminate the
sordid business.

mbs