{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://davidyoung.house.gov/media-center/weeklyreport/myth-vs-fact-gop-tax-plan-capitol-solutions", "Myth vs. Fact on the GOP Tax Plan: Capitol Solutions", "2017-12-01", "2017", "2017-12", "Republican", "House", "IA", "David Young", "Y000066", "davidyoung.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Congress has been working over the past several months to provide deserved tax relief to hardworking Iowa taxpayers. As we near the finish line, there are groups fighting hard to protect the decades old and status quo tax code which is broken for most everyday Iowans. In their battle to protect the establishment which has left so many individuals and families financially struggling, these groups are spreading falsehoods in an all-out effort to stop progress on common sense tax relief. I thought it was important to dispel some of these myths and present the facts.\nMyth: This is only a tax cut for the wealthiest Americans.\nFact: The U.S. House of Representatives\u2019 GOP tax plan maintains the top tax rate of 39.6 percent and lowers all other tax brackets, especially for those containing middle and low income taxpayers to provide tax relief to those who need it most.\u00a0An analysis by the House\u2019s Ways and Means Committee\u00a0found\u00a0a family of four making the median income in Iowa\u2019s Third District would receive, on average, a $2,370 tax cut.\n\u00a0\nMyth: This bill actually raises taxes on the middle class and the poor.\u00a0\nFact: The House\u2019s GOP tax plan provides relief by lowering taxes on the middle income and those struggling to climb the economic ladder. \u00a0Recently, even The New York Times released a study\u00a0revealing\u00a0\u201cNearly everyone who takes the standard deduction gets a tax cut in 2018.\u201d \u00a0And, \u201cFamilies with children generally get a bigger tax cut.\u201d\u00a0By doubling the standard deduction from $6,350 to $12,000 for individuals and from $12,700 to $24,000 for married couples, more of your paycheck will be tax free.\n\u00a0\nMyth: Repealing the individual mandate is repealing\u00a0Affordable Care Act (ACA).\nFact: Although the House\u2019s GOP tax plan does not repeal the individual mandate, the Senate\u2019s GOP tax plan does repeal\u00a0the\u00a0mandate, but still\u00a0preserves the exchanges and all health plans folks have.\u00a0This does not prevent anyone from purchasing health insurance from the ACA\u2019s exchanges.\u00a0The individual mandate\u00a0is a tax penalty intended to mandate and force\u00a0people to purchase health insurance, even if they don\u2019t want it. \u00a0Eighty\u00a0percent (80%) of those who\u00a0did not buy insurance who\u00a0paid the penalty\u00a0made less than $50,000. And\u00a0Politico\u00a0reported\u00a0repealing the individual mandate would not have a substantial impact on the ACA\u2019s markets.\u00a0\n\u00a0\nMyth: The House\u2019s GOP tax plan cuts Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid.\nFact: The tax plan\u00a0does not\u00a0cut a single penny\u00a0from Social Security,\u00a0Medicare, or\u00a0Medicaid.\u00a0Again, there are no cuts to these critical programs in the plan.\n\u00a0\nMyth: Repealing the estate tax is a massive giveaway to the wealthiest Americans.\nFact: The estate tax (sometimes called the death tax) negatively impacts farms and businesses all over the Third District. These folks have worked hard to build their farm and business from the ground up, paying taxes the whole way through. Death should not be a taxable event and families should not have to fear the Internal Revenue Service and more taxes making it more difficult and costly to pass on the farm or family business to the next generation.\u00a0\n\u00a0\nMyth:\u00a0The House\u2019s GOP tax bill will raise taxes on Americans\u2019 retirement.\nFact: The tax bill retains 401(k) and IRAs exactly as they are in current law.\u00a0\n\u00a0\nMyth: Lowering the tax rate on businesses will not help the economy.\nFact: The nonpartisan Tax Foundation\u00a0analysis\u00a0found the House\u2019s GOP tax plan creates nearly one million new jobs and increases wages, on average, by $2,200. For too long wages have been stagnant and hardworking Iowans have been squeezed. The Iowa Policy Project\u00a0found,\u00a0when adjusted for inflation, Iowans working 40 hours per week at the median wage only got a raise of $270 from 1979-2016. It\u2019s clear something is wrong and a broken tax code is suffocating the economy and keeping it from being healthy.\u00a0\n\u00a0\nMyth:\u00a0The House\u2019s GOP tax plan will add $1.4 trillion to the national debt.\nFact:\u00a0Groups are making inaccurate assumptions about the effect of the bill through something called \u201cstatic scoring.\u201d\u00a0That means they are assuming when folks get a tax cut they all will simply hide their money under their mattress, when, in fact, that isn\u2019t what folks do. When folks get a tax cut, many spend it, invest it, and some may save it for a time only to spend it later. This has a positive impact by growing and strengthening the economy and increasing tax revenue.\nThese are only a few of the many myths being spread about the tax relief plans being considered by Congress. Hardworking Iowans deserve not just tax relief and to keep and control more of their hard earned money, but they also deserve to know the truth.\u00a0\nCAPITOL SOLUTIONS\u00a0is a weekly report to the people of Iowa from Third District Congressman David Young.\u00a0The report\u00a0is a resource of information for Iowans on the issues being debated and discussed in Congress, Iowa and the nation.\nDavid Young\u00a0is the Congressman serving all the people of the sixteen counties of Iowa\u2019s Third Congressional District. He is a member of the Committee on Appropriations and Subcommittees on Agriculture, Financial Services and General Government, and Transportation, Housing and Urban Development. Congressman Young is also the founder and Chairman of the Bipartisan Congressional Task Force to Combat Identity Theft and Fraud -\u00a0a\u00a0group of dedicated legislators working towards commonsense solutions to protect all Americans from hackers, scammers, thieves and fraudsters.\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://davidyoung.house.gov/media-center/weeklyreport/myth-vs-fact-gop-tax-plan-capitol-solutions"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 2.157506998628378, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}