The Republican tax plan is supposedly designed to spur business investment, create jobs, and put more money in the pockets of middle-class families.

The Congressional Budget Office, however, indicates that new tax cuts would be either temporary or nonexistent for those earning less than $50,000, and many people in this tax bracket would actually see a tax increase.

The real winners are those earning more than $500,000 a year. The tax plan gives away about $91.7 billion to those earning $1 million a year. Congressional Republicans claim that slashing the top corporate tax rate from 35 to 20 percent would encourage U.S. investment. They also claim that reducing taxes on corporation profits held overseas would bring back $2.4 trillion for reinvestment in the U.S.

However, a Nov. 27 Los Angeles Times article cites a 2004 Bush administration attempt to spur investment in U.S. jobs by reducing the tax on foreign earnings to 5.25 percent.

The “Homeland Investment Act” did lure $300 billion back to the U.S. But a 2009 study published by the National Bureau of Economic Research found that the returned money did not lead to domestic investment.

Instead, most of the money was returned to shareholders through stock buybacks or dividend payments. In 2011, the Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations found that the impact on job creation was nearly nonexistent.

The CBO indicates this tax plan will create a $1.4 trillion deficit over 10 years. Republican Lawmakers are talking about cutting Medicaid, Medicare, and Social Security benefits to cover their new deficit.

Instead of giving the wealthy a huge tax cut, Congress should be closing tax loopholes, creating infrastructure jobs, reducing student debt, and expanding health insurance for all Americans.

Call your congressional representatives and tell them that if they vote for this bill, you won’t vote for them.

Ken Peterson

Buchanan