Tax cuts a bust for Republicans in midterms
By BRIAN FALER 10/22/2018 09:43 AM EDT Updated 10/22/2018 10:07 AM EDT
Republicans thought their massive tax overhaul would be the centerpiece of their midterm strategy. But it turns out they were so wrong they’ve been barely mentioning the $1.5 trillion tax cut on the campaign trail.
With polls showing Americans are more likely to disapprove of the tax law than to approve of it, GOP candidates have been changing the subject to other issues like immigration and health care. Some of the lawmakers who wrote the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act are even struggling to hang onto their seats.
“I would have bet you a lot of money going into this year that, if you cut people’s taxes by thousands of dollars per year, that would be politically popular,” said Ryan Ellis, a prominent Republican consultant. “But it has not worked out that way.”
The main way millions of taxpayers have seen the most direct impact of the law is through changes in their withholding that produces bumps in their paychecks. It’s a roughly $30 increase for the average person paid biweekly and earning between $50,000 and $75,000, according to the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center.
Republicans believed voters would appreciate any increase, even if it wasn’t eye-popping, but polls show most didn’t even notice a change. Sixty-four percent said they have not seen an increase in take-home pay, according to the Gallup poll.
https://www.politico.com/story/2018/10/22/tax-cuts-republicans-midterms-921903?cid=apn
