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Ariz. lawmaker asks for tax cuts be retroactive to 2017

November 7, 2017

Arizona Republican Rep. Andy Biggs is proposing that the GOP tax plan apply retroactively to 2017, a proposal that could give Republicans a political boost, but further cause the deficit to spike.

In a letter to House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady (R-Texas), Biggs argued that Republicans may not accrue the political benefit of the tax reform without retroactive cuts.

"While I appreciate that filers will see immediate benefits arising from decreased withholding in their paychecks already by January 2018, these same taxpayers will also fail to notice that their respective tax burdens have not decreased. Needless to say, the political fallout for Republicans could be dire," he wrote.

Republicans hope to pass the current plan and have it signed into law by the end of 2017, and that the projected injection of cash into taxpayers' paychecks will give the GOP momentum heading into the 2018 midterm elections.

Applying the cuts retroactively would result in a big, lump sum return for many taxpayers, but also add extensively to the deficit.

In his letter, Biggs also asked to drop the highest tax rate and remove the "bubble tax," an extra hump in tax rates that would cause millionaires to pay back benefits intended for low-income earners. The conservative Club for Growth made the same requests of the GOP on Tuesday.

Those provisions would also add to the bill's overall cost.

Biggs has also asked to maintain the tax credit for adoption, which is not included in the bill as currently written.