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americans for tax fairness
Trump-GOP Tax Bill a Gift to 'Predatory Landlords' That Will Worsen Already Dire Housing Crisis
"Housing programs are among the important public services being targeted for significant cuts to fund tax giveaways for billionaires and their wealthy donors," warned one group.
May 15, 2025
House Republicans' proposed budget reconciliation package will make mortgages expensive and harder to obtain, a progressive tax policy group warned Thursday, while over 30 advocacy groups sounded the alarm over the Trump administration's gutting of federal agencies and programs, moves that are exacerbating the U.S. housing crisis.
Americans for Tax Fairness (ATF) said that the proposed permanent extension of expiring portions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) signed into law by President Donald Trump during his first term would grant massive tax breaks to big corporations and the ultrawealthy, "wasting trillions of dollars that could help solve our country's affordable housing crisis."
"The deficit-financed tax cuts would also increase interest rates, making housing less affordable," ATF added. "To the extent the tax cuts are not added to the deficit, housing programs are among the important public services being targeted for significant cuts to fund tax giveaways for billionaires and their wealthy donors."
"They are paving the way for more predatory landlords to jack up rent."
ATF's assertion is supported by a report published in February by the Economic Policy Institute finding that "large, deficit-financed tax cuts would put upward pressure on inflation and interest rates, slowing growth and causing pain to households," including by making borrowing for a home more expensive.
ATF noted that extending the TCJA's weakened low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) could result in 235,000 fewer affordable housing units over 10 years.
"Trump's tax scam reduced the financial incentive for corporations—the largest LIHTC investors—to make equity investments in the tax credits by slashing the corporate tax rate to 21%, and adopting a stingier measure of inflation," the group said.
"One of the most regressive provisions in the 2017 Trump-GOP tax law is the so-called 'opportunity zone' tax break," ATF contended. "While proponents claimed it would encourage investment in low-income neighborhoods, it has instead been ruthlessly exploited by wealthy real estate investors."
"In fact, this program has failed to deliver the promised economic opportunity to underserved communities, instead turning many of these neighborhoods into what can more accurately be described as exploitation zones," the group added.
The Lever's Luke Goldstein and Katya Schwenk reported Tuesday that the reconciliation package's proposed restrictions on state governments passing new regulations on artificial intelligence technology "could kill crackdowns on real estate management company RealPage for raising rents and contributing to the country's housing crisis."
RealPage is accused of price gouging renters via AI-powered surveillance pricing and automated insurance denials and management systems.
"Not only are House Republicans giving their billionaire donors and large corporations a massive tax handout, they are giving RealPage and bad actors like them a free pass to rip off working families," Lindsay Owens, executive director of the economic justice group Groundwork Collaborative, said Wednesday.
"They are paving the way for more predatory landlords to jack up rent, more apps to drive down gig worker wages, and more retailers to hike prices on consumers," Owens added. "The GOP tax bill tells you everything you need to know about the Republican Party's priorities and how unserious they are about lowering costs for working families."
More than a dozen states have joined a class action lawsuit accusing RealPage of using AI to artificially inflate housing prices across the nation.
Also on Thursday, more than 30 housing, consumer, and civil rights groups warned that the Trump administration's deep cuts to federal agencies and programs—spearheaded by the so-called Department of Government Efficiency—"are worsening the nation's housing crisis."
"Our families, neighbors, and communities deserve better than these untenable and unconscionable proposals."
"The Trump administration promised to address the high cost of housing, but so far has proposed policies that will increase the cost of rent, shred the nation's housing safety net, and push more people into homelessness," National Low Income Housing Coalition interim president and CEO Renee Willis said in a statement.
"At a time when more people than ever are struggling to afford the cost of rent and a record number of people are experiencing homelessness, rolling back fair housing protections and cutting funding for rental assistance, homelessness services, and affordable housing development—and gutting the workforce responsible for administering these programs—will only create more hardship," Willis added. "Our families, neighbors, and communities deserve better than these untenable and unconscionable proposals."
In a wider critique of Trump's policy proposals, U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said Thursday on social media: "Wages are stagnant. Housing costs are soaring."
"Many young people will never be able to afford their own homes, but Trump wants to increase the bloated military budget by $150 billion," Sanders added. "WRONG. That money should go toward building the affordable housing that we desperately need."
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Congressional Analysis: GOP Tax Gifts to Rich Would Explode Deficit They Always Complain About
"This bill gives enormous additional tax cuts to wealthy people and corporations, spikes the deficit, and strips healthcare from millions of Americans," said one critic.
May 13, 2025
While Republicans on Capitol Hill—including the leaders of both chambers of Congress—have long argued for reducing the national debt, the GOP is now pushing a tax bill that would not only fund giveaways to the rich by gutting programs that serve the working class, but also add $3.8 trillion to the U.S. deficit.
The national debt is currently $36.2 trillion. The Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) on Tuesday released an analysis showing that the Republican bill would cost $3.8 trillion through 2034, or 1.1% of gross domestic product.
The JCT document notes that some estimates—such as the impact of modifications to de minimis entry privilege for commercial shipments and to Medicare, including limiting coverage—will be provided by the Congressional Budget Office.
The JCT's release coincides with a key meeting in the U.S. House of Representatives. As Politicodetailed:
The newly revised estimate released Tuesday afternoon is up slightly from the $3.7 trillion price tag budget forecasters had previously put on the plan, and it comes as the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee began formally debating the package. Additional changes are possible there, and also later, when Republicans are preparing to take the legislation to the House floor."
[...]
Under the House GOP's budget, the size of their tax cuts is contingent on lawmakers simultaneously cutting spending, and Republicans are hoping to match $4 trillion in tax cuts with $1.5 trillion in spending reductions.
Ahead of the markup, Amy Hanauer, executive director of the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP), said in a statement that "this bill gives enormous additional tax cuts to wealthy people and corporations, spikes the deficit, and strips healthcare from millions of Americans."
"Reckless tax cuts for the top and new corporate loopholes appear to be the big features of this bill, and they're paid for by cutting our healthcare and making American communities more vulnerable to floods, fires, and storms," she stressed. "The revenue raisers—which don't stop this from being extremely expensive—seem to be about picking winners and losers, rather than passing rational, consistent policies."
ITEP's statement also lists the bill's major provisions, including making changes to personal income tax rates and brackets from the GOP's 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act permanent; making permanent and increasing the "pass-through" business deduction; increasing the estate tax exemption; and temporarily increasing the child tax credit, but excluding millions of children.
Americans for Tax Fairness (ATF) similarly listed provisions on social media Tuesday—and highlighted their impacts.
What's the result of maintaining the top income tax rate cut? "25% of the benefits go straight to the top 1%," the group noted. "The average top 1% household makes $2.5 million a year. They would get a $55k tax break. The top 400 taxpayers would get an $800 MILLION tax cut each year."
"Since they're deficit-financing most of this, every penny of the 'savings' DOGE has found... is paying for tax breaks for the wealthy."
What about widening the "pass-through" loophole? "Half of this break goes to millionaires," ATF continued. "The top 0.1% would get a $107,000 tax cut. The top 1% would get an average $22,500 tax cut. Working families would get around $40 to $50. White households get 90% of the benefit."
The group pointed out that "the package doubles how much rich heirs can inherit without paying taxes. That means a couple could pass on $30 MILLION without paying a penny in taxes. This tax break ONLY benefits the richest 0.2% of households. Weakening the estate tax is projected to cost $200 BILLION."
"It also gives corporations $642 BILLION in tax breaks," ATF said. "Most of the benefit of corporate tax cuts goes to CEOs, rich shareholders, and foreign investors. One provision gives Apple, Amazon, Google, Meta, and Tesla alone a $75 BILLION tax cut. Another encourages offshoring."
ATF also tied the proposal to supposed cost-cutting efforts by President Donald Trump's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and its de facto leader, Elon Musk—who also happens to be the CEO of Tesla and the richest man on Earth.
"The part they won't say out loud?" the group wrote. "Since they're deficit-financing most of this, every penny of the 'savings' DOGE has found by cutting the [the Department of Veterans Affairs], Department of Education, and Social Security Administration is paying for tax breaks for the wealthy. Really."
Although Republicans control both chambers and the White House, their majorities are slim, meaning absences and disagreements over issues like increasing the deficit or cuts that will anger constituents in swing districts could slow or even impede their ability to send "one big, beautiful bill" to Trump's desk.
As Common Dreamsreported earlier Tuesday, U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is deploying organizers to mobilize opposition against the GOP's emerging reconciliation package, focusing on districts he has visited as part of his Fighting Oligarchy Tour.
Materials that organizers plan to distribute encourage constituents to call their representatives and request they vote no "on a bill to cut Medicaid, nutrition assistance, and education to pay for hundreds of billions of dollars in more tax breaks for billionaires."
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Critics Decry Trump-GOP Tax Bill as 'Trickle-Down Economics on Steroids'
"I'll tell you what's coming: handouts for billionaires, healthcare cuts for the people," warned one Democratic lawmaker.
May 12, 2025
House Democrats and civil society groups led condemnation of legislation introduced Monday by congressional Republicans and backed by President Donald Trump that one lawmaker said is "about tax breaks for billionaires and kickbacks to corporate donors" at the expense of working class families.
The 389-page bill includes trillions of dollars in tax cuts that would disproportionately benefit the ultra-wealthy and corporations, largely by extending Trump's first-term reductions in taxation mainly for top earners derided as the "GOP tax scam." The proposal also broadens the estate tax exemption for the superrich and makes permanent a massive tax break on offshore corporate profits, a top wish-list item for Big Business.
The proposal would reduce government revenue by trillions of dollars and swell the national debt—currently a staggering $36.2 trillion, or the equivalent of 127% of U.S. gross domestic product—and cost over $5 trillion.
The bill partially offsets the revenue loss by sharply slashing social spending, including on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Medicaid. The legislation would impose work and cost-sharing requirements on many Medicaid beneficiaries and increase eligibility checks. Critics warn that millions of people would lose their health insurance coverage if the bill is passed in its current form.
Former Democratic U.S. Labor Secretary Robert Reich called the proposed legislation "trickle-down economics on steroids."
The Trump-GOP tax bill proposal: -Extend 2017 cuts for top earners -Increase the "pass-through" loophole for big businesses -Expand the estate tax exemption for the ultra-rich -Make a huge tax break for offshore corporate profits permanent Trickle down economics on steroids.
— Robert Reich (@rbreich.bsky.social) May 12, 2025 at 11:32 AM
On the positive side, the popular Child Tax Credit would grow for many households under the proposal. So would the standard deduction. There would also be temporary tax breaks for overtime pay, car-loan interest, and tips. The proposal also establishes a new tax-preferred savings account for children younger than 8 years old under which the government would contribute the first $1,000 for kids born between 2025-28.
However, critics noted that millions of families would receive no benefit from the Child Tax Credit increase, wealthy business partnerships would get an even bigger passthrough deduction than in an earlier draft of the bill, and taxes on many tips and overtime work remain.
"This bill isn't about balancing the budget—it's about tax breaks for billionaires and kickbacks to corporate donors and billionaires, while silencing public voices," said Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.). "We see the grift and we're calling it out."
Rep. Brendan Boyle (D-Pa.), the ranking member of the House Budget Committee, noted that "Trump loves to call his budget the 'big, beautiful bill.'"
"It is—for billionaires," he added. "While Trump's billionaire donors get trillions in tax cuts, working Americans get the largest Medicaid cuts in American history."
House Ways and Means Committee Ranking Member Rep. Richard Neal (D-Mass.) warned, "I'll tell you what's coming: handouts for billionaires, healthcare cuts for the people."
The GOP agenda: rip health care away from millions of Americans to pay for massive tax breaks for the ultra-rich. This is the moment to fight back with everything we’ve got.
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— Elizabeth Warren (@elizabeth-warren.bsky.social) May 12, 2025 at 1:50 PM
Civil society groups also sounded the alarm over the bill.
"Families across the country are struggling now more than ever to get food on the table, visit the doctor, and afford lifesaving medication," ParentsTogether Action executive director Ailen Arreaza said Monday. "But instead of finding ways to offer some relief, Republicans in Congress are racing to pass a bill to hand massive new tax breaks to the ultra-wealthy."
"Even worse? Their plan is to pay for it by ripping healthcare and nutrition aid away from millions," Arreaza added. "One thing is clear: Gutting Medicaid and SNAP to fund tax breaks for the rich is cruelty disguised as policy—and parents across the country will take note of how their representatives vote this week as evidence of who they're fighting for, their constituents or their wealthy donors."
David Kass, executive director of Americans for Tax Fairness, said in a statement that "the House GOP has revealed in broad daylight that their tax bill is a clear scam—one that hands out massive giveaways to their billionaire and corporate donors off the backs of their constituents with a price tag of over $5 trillion."
"The plan's massive cuts to vital programs like Medicaid and SNAP will drive up healthcare and food prices for millions of workers and families, while billionaires pocket the money and the national debt soars," Kass added. "Working and middle-class families—and future generations—shouldn't have to pay higher prices simply to enrich billionaire elites and the politicians in their pocket."
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