— from the office of Rep. Rick Larsen (WA-02) —

Rep. Rick Larsen (WA-02) issued the following statement on Nov. 16 after voting no on the House Republican tax plan:

“The House Republican tax plan does little more than stack the decks for the wealthiest Americans.

“Americans deserve better. Americans deserve a tax plan that works for middle class families in the Pacific Northwest.

“With any tax plan, whether written by Democrats or Republicans, there are winners and losers. The debate has to be around who wins. I believe the winners of any tax plan must be the middle class. Unfortunately, Republicans disagree. The winners of their tax plan are corporations and the wealthiest Americans. Under their plan, the richest one percent of Americans not only receives a tax cut, but those tax cuts are permanent. The same goes for corporate tax cuts.

“On the other hand, middle class families under the Republican tax plan might have their taxes increased. In fact, under this tax plan over half of the families with children are expected to see a tax increase by 2027. And if you are one of those middle class individuals who is lucky enough to see a tax cut under this bill, those cuts will only be temporary.

“Further, the Republican tax plan makes would add $1.7 trillion to our nation’s deficit, which includes a $300 billion price tag just to service our nation’s debt. Why would we spend so much to increase the taxes on the middle class only to cut taxes for corporations?

“The answer is that the Republican tax plan is unfair, and people in the Pacific Northwest deserve better.”