WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans have pledged to overhaul the nation’s complex tax code. To slash taxes, they say they’ll curb a web of expensive deductions and credits to allow more revenue to flow to the government.
Problem is, they’re likely to run into a wall of resistance from people and groups drawn together by a singular warning: Don’t touch my deduction.
Major cherished tax breaks – from deductions for mortgage interest and charitable donations to incentives for 401(k) contributions – have deep-pocketed supporters and lobbyists who are sure to fight to preserve those benefits. They add up to hundreds of billions of dollars in lost potential revenue that could otherwise go to rebuilding roads and bridges or social programs or even to help finance broader tax cuts for people and companies.
“On every single item, there’s a group out there ready to battle,” says Thomas Cooke, a professor and tax expert at Georgetown University.
This makes the outlook thorny for a tax rewrite effort this fall, a Trump priority that Republicans consider a political imperative looking ahead to next year’s midterm elections. The collapse of GOP health care legislation raises the stakes for taxes, with Trump’s team talking about action by year’s end.