MacArthur bill would require IRS online calculator showing real effect of new tax law

Beginning this tax season, U.S. Rep. Tom MacArthur (R-NJ) wants to help Americans understand how the new Tax Cuts and Jobs Act will provide them with real tax relief.

“Unfortunately, some people in politics and the media have resorted to fear-mongering and spreading misinformation about it,” said Rep. MacArthur. “The American people deserve better and they deserve the truth.”

Rep. MacArthur — along with a contingent of 11 Republican original cosponsors — on Jan. 11 introduced the Transparency for Taxpayers Act, H.R. 4780, which calls on the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to develop an online calculator to be located at https://www.irs.gov by April 1.

The proposed IRS online calculator would assist the public as they file their 2017 taxes under the current code, according to MacArthur’s office. This proactive bill would also help individuals simultaneously learn how the new tax reform law that went into effect on Jan. 1, 2018 will impact them when they file taxes for 2018.

“Over the next year, Americans will seek to understand how the new tax law will affect their bottom line,” said MacArthur. “This bill is a common sense solution that will allow taxpayers to see the real and truthful impact of the new tax law.”

The IRS currently fields a variety of similar interactive tools on its website so that taxpayers may enter their data and moments later receive usable information such as help estimating an optimum tax-withholding amount or figuring out the status of a tax refund, among other results.

U.S. Reps. Rodney Davis (R-IL), Don Bacon (R-NE) and Steve Stivers (R-OH) were among the original cosponsors of H.R. 4780, which is awaiting consideration by the House Ways and Means Committee.