Republicans gave one big bank alone $3.7 billion with their tax scam

Just one Wall Street bank added $3.7 billion to their bottom line in 2018, thanks to the GOP tax scam rammed through Congress in late 2017.

On Thursday, JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon announced record profits for the bank in 2018, noting “the new lower tax rates added $3.7 billion to net income.” Dimon went on to add that the bank would have seen record profits even without the kickback from Trump and congressional Republicans.

A major part of the tax scam was reducing corporate tax rates from 35% to 21%. That change helped JP Morgan post a net income of $32.5 billion.

While Dimon and Wall Street investors may be celebrating, families across the country are facing a starkly different story.

“It totally feels like a scam,” John Prugh, New Jersey bookstore manager, told the Washington Post in February. At the time, Prugh had recently discovered his refund was going to be $3,000 less than he anticipated, despite both he and his wife having the same jobs for years.

Prugh is not alone, as millions of families across the country are discovering either lower refunds or eye-popping tax bills due to Uncle Sam.

According to recent IRS data, tax refunds across the country are down by a total of $4.4 billion this year compared to last year. In addition, about 2 million fewer filers received a refund this year compared to last year at this time.

And the lower refunds are starting to hurt the overall economy. Retail sales dropped in January and February, and analysts say lower refunds are the main reason.

The massive profits amassed by just one Wall Street bank shows the GOP tax scam’s “blatant disregard for working people and middle-class families,” Ryan Thomas, Tax March spokesperson, told Shareblue Media. Thomas added that the law is “deeply unbalanced” and prevents corporations from paying their fair share of taxes.

While families may be hurting, wealthy corporations are celebrating like JP Morgan. Amazon, GM, Goodyear, Netflix, and U.S. Steel all made profits in 2018, but all filed for refunds from the government totaling hundreds of millions of dollars.

The GOP tax scam is working just as Republicans intended: Adding billions to already-record profits for Wall Street banks while leaving working families out in the cold.

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.