October 18, 2017
Senator Heidi Heitkamp
SH-516 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Dear Senator Heitkamp,
We, the undersigned organizations representing service providers, charitable organizations, and nonprofit organizations in North Dakota, write to express our deep concern about the Fiscal Year 2018 budget resolution and the tax bill it would put in motion. We urge you to oppose the resolution and stand against any plan with tax cuts for the wealthy and profitable corporations that would force cuts to programs that help everyday Americans make ends meet and get ahead.
The FY18 budget resolution passed by the Senate Budget Committee on October 5 instructs the Finance Committee to draft a reconciliation bill with tax cuts that can add up to $1.5 trillion to deficits over ten years. A deficit-increasing tax bill would drive up the national debt, worsen the nation’s long-term fiscal outlook, and create pressure for steep cuts in Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, SNAP and a broad range of core public investments that support a strong and growing middle class and help families afford the basics. According to the “Big Six” framework unveiled on September 27—which Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-UT) has said will be the base for the eventual tax bill—these tax cuts would be vastly tilted to the wealthy and profitable corporations, with low- and middle-income families largely an afterthought. The nonpartisan Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy projects that just 8.5 percent of the tax cuts will go to North Dakotans making less than $75,600 in 2018. That amounts to an average tax cut of just $340 for 60percent of North Dakota households, which is equivalent to about $28 each month.
When examined more in depth, the picture painted for the lowest 60percent of North Dakota’s earners is even more grim.
· For the top earning of the 60 percent earning an average of $58,600 a year, the tax cut would amount to an average of $570, or $47.50 a month.
· For the second lowest 20%, those earning an average of $33,400 a year, the tax cut would average $290 a year, or $24 a month.
· For those in the bottom 20%, earning an average of $16,700 a year, the tax cut would provide them an average of $140 a year, or just over $11.50 a month.
In contrast, millionaires in our state, earning an average of $1,714,800 a year, would reap a financial windfall, receiving 55.8% of the tax cuts going to North Dakota residents with an average tax cut of $118, 230, or $9,852.50 a month.
Moreover, because the budget resolution instructs the Finance Committee to make changes to deficits (not just revenues), the resolution allows any tax cuts beyond $1.5 trillion to be offset by cuts to programs like Medicaid, Medicare, SNAP and Supplemental Security Income for poor seniors and people with disabilities. This means that everyday Americans are likely to end up footing the bill for these tax cuts in two ways: through immediate spending cuts included in the same reconciliation bill that is expected to cut taxes largely for the wealthy and profitable corporations, and when rising deficits force cuts to health care, education, scientific research, infrastructure, and more.
We strongly disagree with this approach. Tax cuts should be paid for by closing tax loopholes and/or making other responsible tax changes, not by adding to deficits or cutting effective federal programs and investments. In addition, tax policies should invest in working families, instead of prioritizing the wealthy and profitable corporations.
North Dakota workers and families deserve a tax bill that will improve their lives, not make things harder. For all of these reasons, we urge you to oppose the FY18 budget resolution and the emerging tax plan that the resolution’s reconciliation instructions would set off on a partisan filibuster-proof process.
Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
The North Dakota Economic Security and Prosperity Alliance
1003 E. Interstate Ave.
Suite 7
Bismarck, ND 58503
CAWS North Dakota
North Dakota Disabilities Advocacy Consortium
North Dakota Head Start Association
American Association of University Women in North Dakota
North Dakota Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers
Mental Health America of North Dakota
Prevent Child Abuse North Dakota
North Dakota Human Rights Coalition
ND United
Charles Hall Youth Services
Tobacco Free North Dakota
Lutheran Social Services
North Dakota Coalition for Homeless People
Sacred Pipe Resource Center
ND AFL-CIO
Native American Development Center
Designer Genes of North Dakota
North Dakota Farmers Union
High Plains Fair Housing Center
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