John,
Our new report shows that by letting enhanced Affordable Care Act (ACA) premium tax credits expire, Donald Trump and congressional Republicans are not only driving up health costs for tens of millions of Americans―they’re wiping out what little tax relief they created in the Trump-GOP tax scam.[1]
That choice has real consequences for families across the country. A 45-year-old worker earning $62,000 will pay $1,470 more in annual premiums, cutting their average tax cut of around $1,500 down to just about 30 bucks. Meanwhile, a 60-year-old couple earning $82,000 will face $16,900 in higher costs when their tax cut and premium increase are considered together. A family of four making $126,000 will face a net $6,900 more in costs.
The lack of renewal of the ACA premium tax credits is forcing 24 million Americans to pay an average of about $2,400 more each year for coverage―money that could have gone toward groceries, rent, or childcare. Even as the GOP was failing to protect households from this huge increase in costs, it was permanently extending tax breaks for billionaires and large, profitable corporations. The same corporations benefiting from Trump’s tax cuts have used their windfalls to increase executive pay and stock buybacks, which benefit their wealthy investors, rather than improve worker pay or lower costs for consumers.
This report is further evidence that our tax system is designed to serve the wealthy while working families are forced to pay more for essentials like health coverage, housing, and childcare. Americans for Tax Fairness Action Fund (ATFAF) is demanding that Congress make the enhanced ACA tax credits permanent and ensure the ultra-rich finally pay their fair share.
Our research is critical to swaying public opinion and pressuring Congress to act.
Donate today to power our reporting and activism, bring our reports to voters across the country, and hold billionaires accountable.
The 2017 Trump-GOP law was a $4.5 trillion giveaway mostly to the wealthy and corporations, including healthcare companies. Seven of the nation’s largest healthcare corporations alone have avoided $34 billion in taxes since its passage, using the money to reward shareholders and executives.[2] As their profits soared, ordinary Americans lost coverage, faced denied claims, and paid higher premiums.
Now those same lawmakers are doubling down on the same failed agenda by letting the ACA premium tax credits expire, a deliberate choice that once again favors billionaires over working families. They have decided that billionaires should keep their special loopholes while families are left with unaffordable healthcare. Without immediate congressional action, millions could lose their coverage entirely at the end of this year.
ATFAF is mobilizing to expose these policies and push Congress to act. Every dollar we raise funds our research, media strategy, and grassroots pressure to demand affordable healthcare and end tax giveaways for the wealthy and powerful.
The fight for affordable healthcare and fair taxation is the same fight. They’re about creating an economy and a tax system that puts working people first and holds billionaires accountable. Donate now to power our campaign.
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Thank you for being a critical part of our national movement for change.
David Kass
Executive Director
Americans for Tax Fairness Action Fund
[1] For Many Families, Trump-GOP Healthcare Premium Hikes Wipe Out Potential Tax Cuts - Americans For Tax Fairness
[2] Sick Profits: How Healthcare Companies Have Gotten Richer From The Trump Tax Cuts While Submitting Their Customers And Patients To Higher Costs And Substandard Care
