To Kentucky’s Congressional Delegation,
We, the undersigned organizations representing charitable and nonprofit organizations in Kentucky, write to express our deep concern about the new tax cut bill unveiled by House and Senate leaders. We urge you to reject the recently proposed tax plans and work on a bipartisan basis to craft a responsible and equitable tax proposal.
Our organizations serve people from all walks of life, including the most vulnerable communities and individuals in Kentucky. We serve seniors, at-risk youth, people with disabilities, and people and families who struggle to make ends meet. This tax proposal would make life harder for many people we serve, and hamstring our ability to make a difference in their lives and advance our missions.
The House bill would add $1.5 trillion to the deficit by primarily cutting taxes for the wealthy and profitable corporations. The higher deficits that would result from the bill would drive up the national debt, worsen the nation’s long-term fiscal outlook, and ultimately have to be paid for. Everyday Kentuckians are likely to foot the bill through cuts to programs that help their families and our economy, including food assistance, education programs, help for poor seniors and people with disabilities, and tax credits for working families who struggle to get by.
We strongly disagree with this approach. We should be closing tax loopholes and making other responsible tax changes, not creating deficit increases that will force cuts to effective federal programs and investments.
In addition, tax policies should invest in working Kentuckians and families. Yet, for example, low-income working adults without children and non-custodial parents are largely excluded from the bill’s tax cuts and will continue to be entirely or largely shut out from the pro-work Earned Income Tax Credit, meaning that millions would continue to be taxed into or deeper into poverty by federal income and payroll taxes. In fact, the plan as designed in the Senate would raise taxes on average for low and middle-income Kentuckians in order to help pay for large tax cuts for the very wealthy.
Kentuckians and their families deserve a tax plan that will improve their lives, not make things harder. For all of these reasons, we urge you to oppose this harmful tax bill and work instead on a bipartisan approach that does not lead to future spending cuts by losing revenue or increasing deficits and does not harm low- and middle-income families through a regressive tax structure.
Sincerely,
Advocacy Action Network
Appalshop, Inc.
CommonWealth Gardens
Community Action Council
Define American
Franklin County NAACP
Housing & Homelessness Coalition of Kentucky
Jefferson County Teachers Association
Kentuckians for the Commonwealth
Kentucky Center for Economic Policy
Kentucky Coalition Against Domestic Violence
Kentucky Council of Churches
Kentucky Education Association
Kentucky Equal Justice Center
Kentucky Voices for Health
Mental Health America of Kentucky
Mountain Association for Community & Economic Development
Muslim Americans For Compassion
National Association of Social Workers Kentucky Chapter
Parents for Social Justice
Sisters of Charity of Nazareth Congregational Leadership
The Women’s Network of Kentucky
United Food & Commercial Workers 227
Urban League of Lexington
