Could Your First $75,000 Be Tax-Free? Inside the New ‘Keep Your Pay Act’
file photo courtesy of Boyd Loving
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, Is “Tax Fairness” Only Okay if Everyone Stays Taxed?For years, the rallying cry from the progressive left has been a simple three-word mantra: “Tax the Rich.” But a new legislative push from two prominent Democratic Senators is revealing a fractured reality. It turns out that when you actually propose letting the middle class keep their paychecks, some liberal policy hawks aren’t just surprised—they’re “going bonkers.”
Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) recently unveiled the Keep Your Pay Act, a bold proposal that would effectively eliminate federal income tax for the first $75,000 earned by married couples. Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) pushed the envelope even further, suggesting an exemption of up to $92,000.
On paper, this sounds like a populist dream. In practice, it’s causing a civil war within the Democratic base.
What is the “Keep Your Pay Act”?
The centerpiece of Senator Booker’s plan is a massive increase in the standard deduction. By more than doubling the current deduction, the majority of American taxpayers would pay $0 in federal income tax on their initial $75,000 of earnings.
Key Features of the Proposal:
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Zero Tax Floor: The first $75,000 (joint) or proportional amounts for singles would be tax-free.
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Expanded Child Tax Credit: Increasing to $3,600 (ages 6–17) and $4,320 (under age 6).
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The “Baby Bonus”: A one-time $2,400 credit for newborns.
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Closing Loopholes: The plan would be funded by raising the corporate tax rate and tightening limits on executive compensation.
“New Jerseyans are working harder than ever, but they’re struggling… No income tax on the first $75,000 families earn would be a game changer.” — Senator Cory Booker
The Liberal Backlash: Why “Apostasy” is the Word of the Day
You might expect progressives to celebrate a plan that slashes the median family’s tax bill by an estimated 85%. Instead, liberal think tanks are sounding the alarm. Why? Because a smaller tax base means less government control over revenue.
Bobby Kogan, director of federal budget policy at the Center for American Progress, told HuffPost that “the Democratic Party is confused about what it wants.”
The criticism from the left essentially boils down to two points:
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Revenue Retention: They want a “robust tax base” (meaning they want to keep taxing you) to fund government programs.
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The “Progressive” Label: Experts like Corey Husak claim this isn’t a “progressive” plan because it focuses on middle-class relief rather than pure redistribution through the IRS.
The Bottom Line: IRS Tyranny vs. Middle-Class Affordability
For most Americans, the math is simple: keeping more of your paycheck is the fastest way to combat “affordability” issues and inflation.
If this plan moves forward, it would liberate nearly half of all Americans from the burden of federal income taxes. However, the pushback from the far left suggests that for some, the goal isn’t just to “tax the rich”—it’s to ensure the government keeps its hands in everyone’s pockets, regardless of the cost to the working class.
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Tags: #TaxReform #CoryBooker #MiddleClass #Economy #IRS #Politics #TaxCuts
This phoney has not done a single thing to benefit NJ taxpayers