Reader responds to column about tax cuts

I am writing in response to Lynda Waddington's July 14 column 'Tax cuts can't ease trade fears.”

This is not to argue with her thoughts in general, but with the idea that the wealthiest Americans are somehow gaining an advantage with these tax cuts.

She states: 'The latest tax cut is viewed, rightfully, as one more break to the small segment of Americans who don't really need one.” The column goes on to say that by 2025 the total tax cuts will be $10.6 trillion, with nearly $2 trillion going to the richest 1 percent. That means that this group will receive approximately 19 percent of the cut.

According to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, the wealthiest 1 percent of Americans paid 23.8 percent of total taxes in 2017. This doesn't sound like a break to me.

Richard Hull

Cedar Rapids