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As congressional Republicans & the White House approach a deal among themselves, they seem to recognize that the next bill should increase subsidies to help people eat. Now they just need to focus on people who are hungry, not people w/ big expense accounts.
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As the Republican plan is shaping up, there have been reports that “a document circulating among lobbyists claims the package would increase the deduction for business meals to 100%” http://wapo.st/3eY7Ww6
The business meals deduction has been held up for decades as one of the most egregious loopholes in the tax code – i.e. the three-martini lunch. Republicans themselves cut some of its waste in 2017. Helpful history here from Howard Gleckman: http://tpc.io/3eX5Qg5
Now President Trump and some Senate Republicans want to reverse course and increase the deduction from 50 percent to a full 100 percent, for the first time in over 25 years.
The problem is it won’t help restaurants. For decades, executives have been going to very nice restaurants on expense accounts and getting the 50 percent deduction.
Taxes aren’t the reason executives have curtailed expensive lunches, and tax policy changes are not going to get them to dine in more. The reason fewer people are dining at restaurants is that we are in a pandemic, as @jacobleibenluft explains: http://bit.ly/3eTXRAy
If the business meals deduction is a food subsidy that does not make sense, what food subsidy would make sense? This article provides a hint: http://nyti.ms/2OO2wZV
The number of people struggling to get enough to eat has increased dramatically as a result of the pandemic and recession—particularly in households with children. About 8 to 15 million children in households where children are not eating enough. http://bit.ly/2Cxp8eZ
Rising food need among kids is both a short- & long-term crisis. Kids who don’t get enough to eat are at risk of worse development, poor health & even worse lifelong economic outcomes.
Instead of increasing the tax subsidy for business lunches, my colleague @BrynneKJ explains what policymakers need to do: Increase SNAP. http://bit.ly/2ZRYdTK
