Members of the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee traded the polished trappings of their Washington, D.C. hearing rooms for bales of hay and a replica of the Iowa State Fair’s famed butter cow Friday.
The committee held a field hearing at the Iowa State Fair to “highlight the positive impact and importance of” former Republican President Donald Trump’s Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, provisions of which are set to expire at the end of 2025.
“The State Fair couldn’t be more different than the halls of Congress, and that’s exactly why we are here — to listen to regular people, people who run a small business, work their farm, or folks just trying to make ends meet for their families,” said the committee’s chair, U.S. Rep. Jason Smith, R-Mo.
Republican U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra, who represents Iowa’s 4th Congressional District and sits on the committee, welcomed his colleagues to “the breadbasket of the world.” Seven other Republican committee members joined him, but no Democrats made the trip.
Iowa’s other Republican House members, U.S. Reps. Ashley Hinson, Mariannette Miller-Meeks and Zach Nunn, sat in on the hearing as guests.
Major provisions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act are set to expire at the end of this year unless Congress extends them. The legislation lowered tax rates across the board, although some groups saw greater benefits than others. If the provisions aren’t renewed, tax rates will revert to their previous levels.
Republicans have touted the legislation as boosting American families and companies.
“The lesson we should take from the Trump tax cuts is that when we put working families first, help small businesses succeed and give Americans the tools to out-compete China, America will win,” Smith said. “Democrats in Washington, including Vice President Harris, they don’t see it that way. They look at working families and they see an ATM to fund their big government spending.”
Democrats have derided the tax cuts for disproportionately benefiting the wealthy.
“It was really disappointing to see the list of speakers here today,” said Matt Sinvoic, executive director of the progressive advocacy group Progress Iowa. “Of course, everyone deserves a voice in their government, but there is not one person who represents middle class or working families. There’s not one person who I would imagine makes less than even $100,000 a year. And we know that the tax law skews in favor of the extremely wealthy. So the voices of the millions and millions of families that won’t see a penny from this law need to be represented here today.”
The witnesses who were invited to testify before the committee included Karen Dewalt, vice president of global tax at The Home Depot; Sarah Curry, research director for the Iowans for Tax Relief Foundation; Jolene Riessen, a farmer and president of the Iowa Corngrowers Association; Steve Sukup, president and CEO of Sukup Manufacturing Co.; and Lana Pol, owner of multiple businesses, including Greetings Inc.
Curry said that as the mom of three boys, her family “benefited immediately” from many of the policies included in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, with an expansion of the child tax credit “at the top of the list.” She said failure to extend the tax cuts would hurt families like hers.
“As a policy expert and more importantly, as a mom, I can testify that the increased tax liability would hurt my family and many others, both at the federal and state level,” she said. “My family’s tax burden directly affects the amount of income my husband and I can spend on our three young children and the pressure on us to spend time away from them working. Having a child with special needs makes us especially sensitive.”
Riessen said that as she nears retirement, she’s beginning to think more about passing her farm on to her children. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act raised the estate tax exemption, which benefits farmers passing land and expensive farm property down to their children.
“If these tax provisions change, it will be catastrophic for us and so many others,” Riessen said.
The conversation unfolded against the backdrop of a 2024 presidential election that could have a dramatic effect on the future of tax policy.
Trump has indicated he would like to extend his 2017 tax cuts and possibly go further.
Before he ended his reelection bid, Democratic President Joe Biden campaigned on extending the lower personal income tax rates only for individuals who make less than $400,000 a year while allowing them to expire for higher earners and corporations. He said he wanted to raise the corporate tax rate.
The Democratic presidential nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris, voted against the legislation as a senator in 2017. And although she has yet to lay out a comprehensive tax policy proposal, she has echoed Biden in promising to protect households making $400,000 or less from tax hikes.
Brianne Pfannenstiel is the chief politics reporter for the Des Moines Register. She is also covering the 2024 presidential race for USA TODAY as a senior national campaign correspondent. Reach her at bpfann@dmreg.com or 515-284-8244. Follow her on Twitter at @brianneDMR.
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Publish date : 2024-08-16 07:44:00
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