UnidosUS: ‘Tax Cuts and Jobs Act’ Spells Trouble for Pennsylvania’s Working Families

Washington, DC—UnidosUS (formerly NCLR) hosted a roundtable event this afternoon where it released a fact sheet outlining the state-specific impact of the new federal tax bill and discussed how the current budget debate could undermine the progress of Pennsylvania’s Latino community. The much-criticized tax law passed last December provides massive tax cuts for the richest Americans and largest corporations at the expense of working families.

During the roundtable, experts and community members explored how key provisions of the bill—coupled with potential seep cuts to critical programs including Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)—will ultimately decimate investments in working families in Pennsylvania, with many Latinos and recently arrived Puerto Rican evacuees being the hardest hit.

According to the report’s findings, more than 25,000 low-income Latinos will lose out on much-needed gains from the non-refundable expanded Child Tax Credit. Even more alarming, based on current projections for 2019, low-income families will see an average tax cut of $286.67 compared to the significant tax cut of over $53,580 that will fall on Pennsylvania’s richest 1 percent—a clear indication that the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act is in no way aligned with the best interests of the American people.

“The purpose of this bill is clearly not to help America’s working class, instead, it’s intent is to further line the pockets of the nation’s wealthiest. Trying to sell this legislation as anything other than that is deceiving. We need to find solutions to help those families working hard to get ahead and this bill does nothing to address the real economic struggles many are still experiencing,” said Rafael Collazo, Director of Political Campaigns at UnidosUS.