Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

FIRST REGULAR SESSION
                    HOUSE CONCURRENT
                     RESOLUTION NO. 17
                            102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY
                       INTRODUCED BY REPRESENTATIVE CHRISTOFANELLI.
    2075H.01I                                                     DANA RADEMAN MILLER, Chief Clerk



           WHEREAS, prior to government-mandated economic shutdowns during the
 2 coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 spurred
 3 steady economic expansion and allowed the spirit of entrepreneurship to flourish, while
 4 creating new jobs and opportunities for millions of Americans; and
 5
 6         WHEREAS, the tax cuts of 2017 resulted in a one trillion five hundred billion dollar
 7 net tax cut, and were followed by historically low unemployment rates, an increase in
 8 business investment, and a six thousand dollar increase in real median household income over
 9 two years, including scores of raises and bonuses for workers immediately after the 2017 tax
10 cuts were adopted; and
11
12         WHEREAS, more than one hundred million American taxpayers from all income
13 groups, but especially middle and working class American taxpayers, have enjoyed real tax
14 relief due to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017; and
15
16         WHEREAS, twenty-three provisions of the 2017 tax cuts directly relating to
17 individual income taxes, such as the reductions in personal income tax rates, the near
18 doubling of the standard deduction, and the substantial reduction of the hated Alternative
19 Minimum Tax (AMT) will expire after December 31, 2025; and
20
21         WHEREAS, the 2017 tax cuts reduced federal tax rates for households across every
22 income level and this relief resulted in a tax cut of more than one thousand five hundred
23 dollars for the average middle-income earner; and
24
25         WHEREAS, prior to the 2017 tax cuts, the top corporate income tax rate in the
26 United States was thirty-five percent, the highest among all nations in the Organization for
27 Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD); and
HCR 17                                             2

28
29          WHEREAS, the 2017 tax cuts reduced the business tax rate from thirty-five percent
30   to twenty-one percent, bringing the United States back to average among OECD member
31   nations, and dramatically enhancing American competitiveness; and
32
33          WHEREAS, the 2017 tax cuts set an annual cap of ten thousand dollars on the state
34   and local tax (SALT) deduction, thereby broadening the tax base at the federal level and in
35   many states, which caused state level budget surpluses and resulted in many states offering
36   substantial tax relief; and
37
38           WHEREAS, if the current ten thousand dollar cap on the SALT deduction is allowed
39   to expire after December 31, 2025, the federal tax base will be narrowed; and
40
41         WHEREAS, returning to an unlimited SALT deduction would be an incentive for
42   many states to once again implement higher taxes and spend at higher levels; and
43
44          WHEREAS, a majority of Americans support making the 2017 tax cuts permanent;
45   and
46
47          WHEREAS, allowing the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 to expire would result in a
48   massive tax increase on hardworking American taxpayers, a significant decline in American
49   competitiveness, fewer jobs, reduced wage income for workers, and higher prices:
50
51           NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the members of the House of
52   Representatives of the One Hundred Second General Assembly, First Regular Session, the
53   Senate concurring therein, hereby urge the United States Congress to permanently extend the
54   Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 with commensurate spending cuts to avoid increasing the
55   federal debt burden; and
56
57          BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Chief Clerk of the Missouri House of
58   Representatives be instructed to prepare a properly inscribed copy of this resolution for each
59   member of Missouri's Congressional delegation.