House Speaker Paul Ryan clears his desk with the sweep of his arm, illustrating all the clutter that would disappear from the tax code. President Donald Trump shows off a postcard-sized tax return.
“It’s going to make life very simple,” Trump pledges, kissing the postcard for emphasis.
Such is the promise: Filing taxes will become much simpler – a pitch that finds a ready audience among Americans who view IRS Form 1040 with fear and loathing.
An unadvertised side effect of this simplicity: The proposed tax plan moving through Congress disproportionately benefits the wealthy, shifting the tax burden down the income scale toward middle- and working-class taxpayers.
And that, say critics of the plan, is kind of the point.
“When Republicans say simplification for low-income households, they mean tax increases,” said William Gale, a senior fellow at the centrist Brookings Institution. “When they say simplification for high-income households, they mean tax cuts.”