The Senate is expected to vote on its Tax Reform bill the week of November 27th when they return from recess. Tell your Senators to vote no, for these important reasons:

• Working class Americans pay a much greater share of their income than the wealthiest Americans, who get away with exploiting tax loopholes and paying less than their fair share to support public projects and government programs.
• Our system is rigged to favor the richest, so tax reform is key to un-rigging the economy. But the latest GOP tax plan is a slimy wet kiss for the wealthiest Americans.
• It doesn’t even try to propose reforms — it’s literally just a giant giveaway to millionaires, billionaires, and wealthy corporations. The non-partisan Tax Policy Center estimates that 80 percent of the benefits in the new plan will go to the richest 1 percent, while nearly one in three working families would end up paying more.
• In order to bankroll this “get-even-richer-even-quicker” scheme, Republicans in Congress are proposing cuts to vital services and programs like Social Security, Medicaid, and Medicare — while still driving up the deficit by $1.5 trillion or more.

It isn't enough to simply tell Senators NOT to vote for this atrocious piece of legislation; we need to make it clear what we want from tax reform. The Congressional Progressive Caucus has outlined a tax plan that actually helps working families rather than millionaires.

Americans across the political spectrum are worried about jobs, wages, and our economy. These progressive tax priorities invest in growing the economy and reducing the deficit. They focus on supporting working families through measures like the Earned Income Tax Credit and the Child Tax Credit.

On October 25,2017, the Congressional Progressive Caucus, the largest ideological caucus in Congress, released their new Progressive Principles for Tax Reform. The document demands that Congress instead prioritize spending that creates economic opportunity, rewards hard work, and protects low-income families.

Eliminates Loopholes and Raises Revenue

• eliminates tax loopholes and tax shelters for corporations
• enacts a tax on Wall Street speculation,
• abolishes tax incentives and rewards for businesses that offshore jobs
• removes $95 billion in special tax breaks for the top 1 percent
• eliminates fossil fuel subsidies

Fair Taxation

• prioritizes the Earned Income Tax Credit, a tax credit for low-income and working class individuals and couples, particularly those with children.
• advocates expanding other tax credits that benefit working families, such as the Making Work Pay Tax Credit, the Child and Dependent Care Credit, and the American Opportunity Tax Credit. Each of these uplifts working families, removes barriers to success, and reduces income inequality.

The Progressive Caucus’s tax priorities are part of a bigger vision to uplift working families and create tools for prosperity.

It’s past time for our country to provide opportunities for working families to build a better future for themselves. It’s time for the people who can actually afford to pay taxes to pay their fair share. It’s time for us to un-rig the tax system so working families don’t continue to pay the price for not being wealthy.

“We cannot afford to extend tax breaks for corporations or the wealthy that cripple our ability to invest in areas that expand economic growth, like infrastructure and education,” the document says. “Tax reform must be done in a way that raises significant revenue, protects working families and the vulnerable, and requires corporations and the wealthy to pay a fair share.”