Politics

Senator Heitkamp Touts Benefits Of Tax Cut Bill She Voted Against

REUTERS/Dan Koeck

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Democratic North Dakota Sen. Heidi Heitkamp touted the estate tax provisions of last year’s GOP tax bill – the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act – despite the fact that she staunchly opposed and voted against it.

During what appeared to be an AARP sponsored call-in program, Heitkamp sought to alleviate concerns raised by caller “Charlene” about North Dakota farmers being “afraid of the death tax” by bringing up the fact that the threshold had been raised to over $11 million in last year’s tax bill.

“What we were able to do – and I agree with this – is actually raise the amount of money which can be passed on to the next generation to $11 million,” said Heitkamp, deftly inserting the word “we” when speaking of the bill she opposed. “I mean, very few seniors have that kind of money, and so you would never realize any kind of estate tax burden.” (RELATED: Cramer Pulling Away In North Dakota Race, Now Leads Heitkamp By 16 Points)

The North Dakota senator then pointed out the small number of farms now subject to the tax, saying that it now “has very very little effect in North Dakota.”

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This is a dramatic change from her comments regarding the Tax Cuts And Jobs Act at the time it was passed:

“This bill is bad business and it’s about a political win, but the detrimental impacts of it will be felt across North Dakota and the country,” Heitkamp said via statement in 2017.

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