Business
Lew Says Congress Should Turn Efforts Toward Business Taxes

In this Feb. 13, 2013, file photo, Jack Lew testifies at his confirmation hearing to be the new Treasury Secretary in Washington. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
STEPHEN OHLEMACHER, Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration is pushing Congress to simplify federal business taxes after Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew said Democrats and Republicans are too far apart to agree on sweeping changes to taxes paid by individuals and families.
Lew said the Obama administration has no interest in lowering the top income tax rate paid by individuals, a key goal for Republicans. He said there are more areas of agreement on business taxes.
“I don’t think that there’s any advantage in pretending that there aren’t big disagreements on the individual tax side,” Lew said at a forum hosted by the Brookings Institution, a Washington think tank. “We had a national debate just two years ago about the top rate. We’re not looking at the kind of negotiation to go back to lower the top rate.”
“While our views on individual tax reform may be far apart,” Lew added, “there is a broad set of business tax reforms on which we should be able to agree.”
Lew’s comments came after President Barack Obama proposed raising taxes on the rich and using some of the revenue to finance tax breaks for the middle class. In his State of the Union address this week, Obama called his approach “middle-class economics.”
Congressional Republicans panned the speech, saying there is no way they would use their majorities in the House and Senate to enact tax increases.
“This White House is more about redistribution and populist class warfare than about actual bipartisan tax reform,” said Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee.
Congressional Republicans said they were disappointed the Obama administration isn’t pushing to simplify taxes for individuals. They noted that the vast majority of small business owners report business income on their individual tax returns.
Still, key Republicans said they would welcome more talks about business taxes.
“We’re going to keep talking. We’re going to exhaust the possibilities of seeing where the common ground exists and see if we can get something done,” said Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., chairman of the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee.
“We do have big differences of opinion and our next step is to explore the areas of common ground if and where they exist,” Ryan said. “I’d like comprehensive tax reform and I think it’s important that you make sure that small businesses don’t fall by the wayside. And that is very important to us, and so we’ll see if we can complete the circle.”
Hatch and Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, the top Democrat on the Finance Committee, have formed five bipartisan working groups to work on various aspects of the tax code, with the goal of developing comprehensive legislation by the end of the year.
“I don’t want to just release a framework or a proposal that doesn’t go anywhere,” Hatch said in a speech this week. “My only goal when it comes to tax reform is to make new law.”
Democrats and Republicans alike agree that the nation’s tax laws are too complicated for businesses and individuals, filled with too many exemptions, deductions and credits. The tax code is so complex that most Americans pay someone to do their taxes or they buy commercial software to help them file.
There is also widespread agreement that lawmakers should eliminate some targeted tax breaks and use the extra revenue to lower tax rates for everyone. However, there is no consensus on which tax breaks should go and whose tax rates should be cut.
The top federal income tax rate for individuals and families is 39.6 percent. Some Republicans in Congress would like to lower it to 25 percent.
“I don’t think lowering the top individual rate is the way to grow our economy or create a better future for middle-class workers or for the country at large,” Lew said.
Obama released a framework for business tax reform in 2012. In it, he called for lowering the top corporate income tax rate from 35 percent — the highest in the industrialized world — to 28 percent. Obama would finance the cut by eliminating dozens of targeted tax breaks for corporations.
The corporate income tax, however, only affects a small percentage of American businesses. More than 30 million tax returns a year report business income. But in 2013, only 2.2 million were traditional corporations that paid the corporate income tax.
The overwhelming majority were sole proprietorships, partnerships and other corporations in which the owners report their business income on their individual tax returns. These businesses, known as pass-throughs, would not benefit from a cut in the corporate income tax rate.
Lew said Obama’s plan would help these businesses in other ways, such as easing accounting rules and enabling them to more quickly write off business expenses.
Key Republicans in Congress, however, are skeptical that Obama’s proposals would do enough to help small businesses.
“Let’s start the discussion on businesses, but it’s difficult to follow that all the way through without having a real adult conversation about individual rates because so many of our businesses are filing over there,” said Rep Kevin Brady of Texas, a senior Republican on the Ways and Means Committee.
___
Follow Stephen Ohlemacher on Twitter: http://twitter.com/stephenatap
Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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OPINION: Your Voice and Vote Impact the Quality of Your Health Care
One of the most dangerous developments we’re seeing now? Deep federal cuts are being proposed to Medicaid, the life-saving health insurance program that covers nearly 80 million lower-income individuals nationwide. That is approximately 15 million Californians and about 1 million of the state’s nearly 3 million Black Californians who are at risk of losing their healthcare.

By Rhonda M. Smith, Special to California Black Media Partners
Shortly after last year’s election, I hopped into a Lyft and struck up a conversation with the driver. As we talked, the topic inevitably turned to politics. He confidently told me that he didn’t vote — not because he supported Donald Trump, but because he didn’t like Kamala Harris’ résumé. When I asked what exactly he didn’t like, he couldn’t specifically articulate his dislike or point to anything specific. In his words, he “just didn’t like her résumé.”
That moment really hit hard for me. As a Black woman, I’ve lived through enough election cycles to recognize how often uncertainty, misinformation, or political apathy keep people from voting, especially Black voters whose voices are historically left out of the conversation and whose health, economic security, and opportunities are directly impacted by the individual elected to office, and the legislative branches and political parties that push forth their agenda.
That conversation with the Lyft driver reflects a troubling surge in fear-driven politics across our country. We’ve seen White House executive orders gut federal programs meant to help our most vulnerable populations and policies that systematically exclude or harm Black and underserved communities.
One of the most dangerous developments we’re seeing now? Deep federal cuts are being proposed to Medicaid, the life-saving health insurance program that covers nearly 80 million lower-income individuals nationwide. That is approximately 15 million Californians and about 1 million of the state’s nearly 3 million Black Californians who are at risk of losing their healthcare.
Medicaid, called Medi-Cal in California, doesn’t just cover care. It protects individuals and families from medical debt, keeps rural hospitals open, creates jobs, and helps our communities thrive. Simply put; Medicaid is a lifeline for 1 in 5 Black Americans. For many, it’s the only thing standing between them and a medical emergency they can’t afford, especially with the skyrocketing costs of health care. The proposed cuts mean up to 7.2 million Black Americans could lose their healthcare coverage, making it harder for them to receive timely, life-saving care. Cuts to Medicaid would also result in fewer prenatal visits, delayed cancer screenings, unfilled prescriptions, and closures of community clinics. When healthcare is inaccessible or unaffordable, it doesn’t just harm individuals, it weakens entire communities and widens inequities.
The reality is Black Americans already face disproportionately higher rates of poorer health outcomes. Our life expectancy is nearly five years shorter in comparison to White Americans. Black pregnant people are 3.6 times more likely to die during pregnancy or postpartum than their white counterparts.
These policies don’t happen in a vacuum. They are determined by who holds power and who shows up to vote. Showing up amplifies our voices. Taking action and exercising our right to vote is how we express our power.
I urge you to start today. Call your representatives, on both sides of the aisle, and demand they protect Medicaid (Medi-Cal), the Affordable Care Act (Covered CA), and access to food assistance programs, maternal health resources, mental health services, and protect our basic freedoms and human rights. Stay informed, talk to your neighbors and register to vote.
About the Author
Rhonda M. Smith is the Executive Director of the California Black Health Network, a statewide nonprofit dedicated to advancing health equity for all Black Californians.
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