A group of more than 300 economists on Thursday sent a letter to President Donald Trump and Republican leaders in Congress urging the quick passage of the GOP tax package to prevent the expiration of the 2017 tax cuts and a $4 trillion tax hike they say would hurt the economy.
The letter was led by Stephen Moore, an economist and co-founder of Unleash Prosperity Now, and emphasized the extension of lower taxes on individuals and small businesses in the package. In addition, the simplification of the tax code, provisions that are due to expire at the end of the year, will effectively raise taxes on millions of Americans.
"We attracted over 300 economists, esteemed economists from some of the major universities, business leaders from around the country, and they all agreed that it would be good for the economy, good for business and good for American workers if we made the Trump tax cuts permanent," Moore told FOX Business in an interview.
"This was really devoted to, basically, the idea of making sure that the tax cuts that were passed in 2017 don't go away on Jan. 1st, because if Congress doesn't act, we're looking at the biggest tax increase ever," he explained.
The letter said some critics of the bill have criticized the 2017 tax cuts as primarily benefiting the wealthiest Americans but actually contributed a larger share of tax revenue after the reforms.
"Despite all the talk about tax cuts for the top 1% and millionaires and billionaires, it turns out that the share of income taxes paid by millionaires and billionaires actually increased. In other words, their share of the federal income tax went from 42% to about 45% of the total," Moore said. "Most Americans aren't aware that the richest 1% pay almost half of the income tax, so we have a highly progressive system already."