President Trump, desperate for a legislative victory, now hopes to find it in bipartisan tax reform. Let us help.



The Democrats should unite on three conditions: Not a dollar more in tax cuts for the rich, not a dollar added to the national deficit, and no votes on anything until Trump reveals his own tax returns.



After all, he stands to benefit enormously from his plan - by more than $1 billion, according to a New York Times analysis, because of perks for the rich like eliminating the estate tax. This isn't about playing politics; it's about defending the priorities of ordinary Americans.

Don't mess with economic progress, President Trump | Editorial



When polled earlier this year, a majority said the rich and corporations are taxed "too little," the president and Congress aren't doing enough about the national debt, and Trump should publicly release his tax returns, as even most Republicans have called for.



So far, Trump is failing on all fronts. Clearly, he's just feeding his donor base with this tax plan, because the only guaranteed winners are himself and his super-rich friends.



The top 1 percent would get the biggest windfall: a tax cut of more than $200,000, on average, the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center estimates. Other taxpayers would benefit only modestly. And its tax cuts for the non-rich fade out over the next decade, while its tax cuts for the rich do not. Revealing.



Many Americans would even see tax hikes. Nearly 30 percent of those with incomes between $50,000 and $150,000 would get a tax increase, as would the majority of households earning between $150,000 and $300,000.



The increases are largely due to the elimination of several itemized deductions, like the deduction for state and local taxes - which is particularly bad for New Jerseyans, since we pay among the nation's highest property taxes.



Do "everyday Americans" really want a tax code even more rigged in favor of millionaires and billionaires? A big tax cut for the rich that would blow up the deficit? Our federal debt is already out of control. Under this plan, we'd forfeit trillions in revenue.



One of the biggest winners would be Trump himself. Instead of paying as much as 39.6 percent on his income, the individual rate, he could establish an entity that's capped at 25 percent - a totally unjustifiable loophole. He and his heirs would also benefit enormously from eliminating the estate tax, which affects just a few thousand of America's wealthiest families.



Trump promised a "middle class miracle," but what he's actually proposing would save himself and his uber-wealthy donors tens of millions in a single year - lost revenue that only makes it harder for America to invest in its middle class.



"It's not good for me, believe me," Trump said of his tax plan. That was a lie. And if he really wants America to believe him, let's see those tax returns.

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