Slate: Why Withholding Your Taxes in Protest Could Actually Help Trump and Musk, by Adam Chodorow (Arizona State; Google Scholar):
It’s tax season, and if you’re upset about how things are going in government right now, you might be tempted to protest by withholding your taxes. After all, conservatives had their Tea Party moment. Why shouldn’t those opposed to the efforts of President Donald Trump and Elon Musk to dismantle the government, alienate our allies, and degrade America’s standing in the world have their own? …
The question is: When are protests warranted? We have a democratic government, where the majority gets to set policy and decide what to spend money on and how much. When does disagreement with government policy rise to the level that it justifies a refusal to pay taxes? We could all identify something that might inspire us to protest, whether from the left or the right: war, abortion, guns, the death penalty, NPR. The list goes on. The problem is: We are either committed to our democratic process or we are not. It would be ironic for those outraged about the attack on the rule of law to protest by … ignoring the law. …
Civil protest can be a powerful tool, bringing attention to injustice and bad government policy. But no matter how just the cause, it does not permit folks to break the law with impunity. Failure to file and pay taxes can lead to two different penalties and interest charges that can outstrip the amount owed if enough time passes. It can even lead to criminal charges and prison. Just ask Hunter Biden. …
No one enjoys paying taxes under the best of circumstances. And refusing to pay to advance one’s cause can make it all seem noble. But it is not that simple. Nothing ever is. So, feel free to fantasize about standing up to the man and refusing to pay your taxes. You can even imagine yourself wearing a tricorne hat. However, to paraphrase Michelle Obama, if you’re worried or upset about what’s going on today, do something … else.
Slate: Republicans Are Trying to Use Accounting Magic to Conceal the Cost of Tax Cuts, by Adam Chodorow (Arizona State; Google Scholar):
Republican hypocrisy about the deficit is well known to those who pay attention. Despite their railing against deficit spending, the deficit somehow manages to increase every time they’re in charge. When it comes to tax cuts, they typically claim that cuts will pay for themselves with increased economic activity, despite clear and repeated evidence that they typically do not.
Hard pressed to make such claims about extending Trump’s 2017 tax cuts (at least with a straight face), they’re now trying to use a clever accounting trick to pretend that their new tax legislation is costless, when, in fact, it will add about $4.6 trillion to the national debt over the next decade. …
Republicans want to pretend that the revenue losses they’re voting for don’t exist, which will allow them to comply with the budget instructions they create as part of the reconciliation process. Ridiculous, you say! Well, you don’t have to believe me. Here’s David Schweikert, a proud member of the Freedom Caucus: “Anyone that says ‘current policy baseline’ is engaging in intellectual and economic fraud.” According to a nonpartisan report he requested from the Congressional Budget Office, extending the tax cuts would add 30 percent to the deficit over the next 30 years.
Worried that the parliamentarian might rule against them (and with good cause), John Thune, the Senate majority leader, has backed the idea that Lindsey Graham, the chair of the Senate Budget Committee, can unilaterally decide what baseline to use. Put simply, this would place the Republicans in the position of petitioner and judge in their own case.
Time was when the Republicans put themselves forward as fiscal conservatives, railing against the tax-and-spend Democrats. Yet, as noted before, deficits and the national debt increased dramatically whenever they controlled the levers of power.
Unable to claim that these tax cuts will pay for themselves, they are now resorting to accounting tricks and technical jargon like current policy in the hope that we’re too dumb or distracted to notice what’s going on. All this so that they can continue to pretend they care about the deficit, when in fact they are gearing up to increase it dramatically … again
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