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December 7, 2017 Volume XXV, Number 18 As Boulder County's only independently owned newspaper, Boulder Weekly is dedicated to illuminating truth, advancing justice and protecting the First Amendment through ethical, no-holdsbarred journalism and thought-provoking opinion writing. Free every Thursday since 1993, the Weekly also offers the county's most comprehensive arts and entertainment coverage. Read the print version, or visit www.boulderweekly.com. Boulder Weekly does not accept unsolicited editorial submissions. If you're interested in writing for the paper, please send queries to: editorial@boulderweekly.com. Any materials sent to Boulder Weekly become the property of the newspaper. 690 South Lashley Lane, Boulder, CO, 80305 p 303.494.5511 f 303.494.2585 editorial@boulderweekly.com www.boulderweekly.com Boulder Weekly is published every Thursday. No portion may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher. © 2017 Boulder Weekly, Inc., all rights reserved.
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Highroad Why so many Americans hate Trump’s ‘tax reform’ by Jim Hightower
T
he Trump tax plan is not selling well. Indeed, twothirds of the American people oppose it, and only 16 percent believe it would reduce their tax bill. But wait, say Trump and his congressional Trumpeteers, we’re really trying to help you commoners. How? By killing the “death tax,” so when you die your estate can go to your heirs without that inheritance being taxed. As the president so eloquently put it: “To protect millions of small businesses and the American farmer, we are finally ending the crushing, the horrible, the unfair estate tax.” Hooray, Donald is saving us! Actually... no. The great majority of Americans don’t own farms, businesses or big estates of any kind, so that tax doesn’t
For more information on Jim Hightower’s work — and to subscribe to his award-winning monthly newsletter, The Hightower Lowdown — visit www.jimhightower.com.
even apply to us. Also, 99 percent of people who do have farms and businesses are already exempt from the tax, since it only applies to estates worth $5.5 million or more. I realize that Trump prefers grandiose claims over actual facts, but here are a few reality checks showing that his statement is not just a lie... it’s a whopper: This year, a mere twotenths of 1 percent of American families will inherit enough to owe any estate tax. That’s only about 11,000 families — not “millions” as Trump so theatrically proclaimed. As for protecting our nation’s family-farm and small-business estates from taxation, only 80 of those are big enough to be subject to the tax this year. So who, exactly, is Trump “saving” from having to pay some taxes on their multimillion-dollar estates? The richest 0.2 percent of American families — including one named Trump! Killing the estate tax lets a handful of elites — the richest of the richest — escape from paying more than $20 million each that they owe to support the country that has enriched them. And that’s what the Trump plan really is all about. This opinion column does not necessarily reflect the views of Boulder Weekly. December 7 , 2017 5