The tax bill to be finally adopted by
Congress before the end of the year has produced of a series of
myths, mainly the result of its rushed legislative process.

These myths result from ignorance of
its content and its economic and political effects. They are
separate from the purely partisan debate about who gets what and how
much.

Myth 1. We know what the impact of the
tax bill will be.

It is designed to give major cuts to
the wealthy and corporations to make more job-creating investments.
The middle class will supposedly gain. And it will the biggest tax
cut in history.

We have no way of knowing what the
recipients of the largest tax cuts will do. If they invest,
reflecting the most favorable view of the bill, tax revenues from a
booming economy might cover the cost of the cuts. If they keep the
money, the tax cuts will boost the deficit.

It is impossible to measure tax cuts
comparatively, and they vary by income. And we will never know if
this really is the biggest reduction. As for the middle class, many
will gain a little and some will pay more. Nobody now knows where he
or she stands.

Our inability to understand the impact
of the tax cuts is partly because we don’t know what all the tax
cuts are. The bill is a Christmas tree, decorated with special tax
gifts for limited groups.

Some of the tax cuts were added out of
sight of the members of the Senate just before they voted on the
bill. Looking at the bill, you will see handwritten notes adding and
changing provisions. Senators had no way of knowing what they voted
on.

Myth 2. The tax bill will simplify
taxation.

Its advocates claimed it would simplify
paying taxes. The tax code was only simplified by eliminating
benefits for average taxpayers. For example, the code drops personal
exemptions. And people in high income tax states, like Maine, will
suffer from the deletion of a tax deduction for state taxes.

The bill is criticized for being over
400 pages, as if that is an indication of how bad it is. But that’s
just another myth. When Congress changes any law, the language
required to do something simple may take a lot of words. It’s the
content that counts.

Myth 3. The tax bill was given careful
consideration.

In fact, the bill was passed in the
House and Senate in a hurry, though there was no need to rush. But
the GOP wants at least one big legislative win in 2017 to show it was
worth turning the entire federal government over to them.

If merely having a bill was more
important than what it contained, they will have succeeded. That
approach opened the way to all the special interest deals in the
middle of the night.

The Republicans wanted to make sure
they could pass the bill without any Democratic votes. They know
that now they have just barely enough of a Senate majority to pull
that off. They avoided the risk of achieving fewer cuts if they
proceeded more carefully.

Myth 4. This tax bill makes permanent
changes in the tax code.

Republicans eliminated the ability of a
Senate minority to block action. When the Democrats regain a
congressional majority, they can amend and repeal the Republican cuts
and add some of their own.

The chances of laws swinging wildly
back and forth with the change of parties should encourage
cooperation and moderation. Not this time. Candidates may claim
they can work with the other side, which is what voters want. But
once they are in office, they follow the party line.

The last major tax bill in 1986 came
during the administration of Ronald Reagan, the model of a
conservative Republican president, and it had strong Democratic
support. That was real, revenue-neutral tax reform. This year’s
bill isn’t; it’s a revenue-losing tax cut.

Myth 5. This is a tax bill.

Not exactly. The Senate version would
eliminate the Affordable Care Act mandate, which will mean millions
lose their coverage and many will face higher insurance premiums.
And it would allow oil drilling in the Alaska National Wildlife
Refuge.

This bill is supposedly about cutting
taxes for middle-income people. Whether it succeeds in cutting taxes
or in creating jobs won’t be known for at least a year.

But the bill is really meant to score
political points for its supporters in the 2018 elections. Watch for
these myths in that political campaign.