House Republicans Are Pushing for New Tax Cut and Retirement Legislation by Jesse F.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/house-republicans-unveil-plan-to-make-individuals-tax-cuts-permanent-1536615799

Republicans in the House of Representatives have recently made a new proposal that would make the individual tax cuts enacted in previous legislation permanent as well as changing retirement policy.

The proposal would allow small business employers to band together to offer 401(k) plans in “Multiple Employer Plans” to lower fees for employees.
Additionally, individuals 70½ and older would be permitted “to deposit up to $6,500 a year in either a traditional IRA or a Roth IRA” and use a new type of savings account where money grows tax-free and can be used for non-retirement purposes.

Parents would be allowed to withdraw up to $7,500 from a retirement plan penalty-free within a year of childbirth or adoption. Furthermore, it would permit individuals to use money in a 529 college savings account to fund expenses involved with an apprenticeship program or home schooling. Parents would be allowed “to use up to $10,000 from a 529 account to help a child with his or her student loan payments”.

Mark Iwry, who “oversaw retirement policy in the U.S. Treasury Department during the Clinton and Obama administrations” noted that the retirement legislation proposed is similar to legislation the Obama administration proposed in 2013, which suggests that some of this legislation may see bipartisan support.

While some Republicans like Representative Kevin Brady claim that “this legislation is our commitment to the American worker to ensure our tax code remains the most competitive in the world”, Democrat critics like Representative Richard Neal claim that “Republicans have doubled down on their initial tax scam and are yet again putting the wealthiest, most privileged Americans ahead of average, hardworking families”.


This proposal would significantly affect particular groups of people in the United States and likely set a precedent for tax and retirement policy in the U.S. Would this proposal benefit the common American worker like Rep. Brady suggests, or is it really a scam to put the most privileged Americans at an even larger advantage as Rep. Neal suggests? Is this proposal good for the country and its people overall? Are there significant problems with this proposal? And will this plan pass?