Right now, details are limited, but here are the basics. The plan increases the standard deduction and keeps mortgage, interest, and charitable deductions, but it gets rid of many others. The top tax rate drops to 35 , the Corporate Tax rate is slashed, and the plan eliminates the estate tax. With me now is jamie hopkins, he is an associate professor of taxation at American College of Financial Services in radnor. Thanks for being here, jamie. Jamie hopkins thank you for having me, lauren. Lauren so, the president calls this a middleclass miracle. Is this a good deal for the middle class . Are they going to pay less . Jamie so, the reality is this is a tax cut almost for everyone in the us, so from the highest earners, businesses, all the way down. Now, how much of a tax cut it is for each Different Group in the country, thats where the details are going to matter. But it really is a tax cut almost across the board. Lauren are we able to tell at this point what it means for, say, a family making 50,000 . Jamie yeah, so when you pull an exact income range, we cant really tell you exactly where its going to fall. So, if youre at 50,000, are there going to be some breaks for you . Yes, especially if you have some kids, some dependents, theyre likely to raise up the childcare, dependent tax credit. And so, if you got a couple kids, earning a low amount of money, and depending on what state youre in too, its also that is going to factor in a lot here. Lauren whos the big winner in this when you look at the whole framework of the plan right now . Jamie yeah, so the Tax Policy Center and a couple other places out there have kind of analyzed at least the initial numbers. And what they said is most of the tax breaks, 50 of them, are likely to go to the top 1 of earners. Well, why . Because the elimination of the estate tax really only applies to people with 11 million or more, as a couple, when they pass away. Now, thats not a whole lot of middle america, right . So, thats a tax break for a small group. The other one is the Corporate Tax rate being slashed. Thats going to really impact the Business Owners more, but thats designed to kind of spur business and growth. So, will it create more jobs in some areas . Yes. In some other areas, it might just cause more corporate restructuring, Companies Buying back stock. So, thats going to have a mixed impact depending on the different company. Lauren jaime, you mentioned that everyone may get some sort of cut, but you know, are you talking about something that is really going to be significant, that people may be able to take and go on vacation with, or put towards a college fund, Something Like that . Or is this going to be, you know, an extra 50 . Jamie yeah, for some people, if youre somebody who has a mortgage today and you live in a high tax state like new jersey, it might be a little bit of a tax cut, but were not talking about something thats going to enable you to fund your kids college, or go on a really nice vacation each year. In some of those areas, you could see some people actually pay more. Now, thats lauren pay more . Jamie pay more, yeah. Lauren whos going to pay more . Jamie yeah, so the one thats going to pay more is youve got that mortgage, right . And youre deducting that interest today. And they say, well, were going to let you keep that. But if you itemize, you really need a lot of things to itemize, and one of the kind of kickers for that is usually your state and local taxes. New jersey, very high state taxes. Actually four of the kind of seven highest congressional districts of itemizing come from new jersey. So, theyre going to be ones that are very heavily impacted. Actually, new jersey has 4 congressional districts where over 50 of the filers there itemize. Itemization in this is not going to be nearly as popular. With an increased standard dedication, less likely to do that. Lauren and you know, you mentioned the deducting those state and local taxes, this is something that the administration has been talking about. Why dont we take a listen to the treasury secretary as he is making the case for that . This is steven mnuchin, take a listen. Steven mnuchin one of the things were trying to do is eliminate lots and lots of deductions. One of those deductions is about getting the federal government out of the business of subsidizing the states. Lauren so, is that going to fly . We dont know if its going towhat these deductions are going to be that are left on the cutting room floor. Is this one going to fly . Jamie so, i think this is going to be hard to sell to states like new jersey and california, which do have republican voters, right . And they do have Republican Congress and senate members. And thats going to be tough to sell there when all of a sudden you might be raising taxes for some people in your district if you remove this state income Tax Deduction from the taxes. So, that could be hard to sell. That could be one thats on the chopping block. I actually think it was recently said thats on there, but its not redline. Jamie if theyif they say, oh, okay, well keep that, can they make the numbers work without it . Jamie yeah, you can still make the numbers work without it. And a lot of this, right, is Tax Deductions, its tax credits, but really your effective tax rate is what matters. So, then theyre going to have to play more with what we say is the tax brackets. So, you might have to expand or contract some of them lauren where you fall depends onmakes a difference in how much you pay. Jamie yeah, so how much money you earn, right, that exact dollar amount will matter. And so, then theyll have to do some more movement and work there to make it work. Lauren whats going to be the biggest factor behind the scenes and what this actually ends up looking like . Jamie yeah, so, its votes right now, right . You have to find enough people to vote for it, which means theres going to be different interest from different states. The tax codes not equal to every state, as we were just talking about. If youre a high income tax state, its different than the states that tax for sales or property taxes. And the other thing thats going to matter a lot here is the estate tax i think is a bargaining chip. I personally dont think that thats going to be part of this. I think if you looked a president trumps budget back earlier this year, he actually showed increase in tax revenue over the next 10 years from the estate tax. Lauren so, you dont think thats going away. Jamie i dont think thats going away. I think thats going to be a bargaining chip there. Lauren you know, one of the things that some people really like about this plan, i was in an event just last week, and some folks were saying they liked the idea of making it simpler. That is something that administration is really pushing here. And take a listen again to the treasury secretary talking about that issue. Steve its gotten harder and harder. And under our plan, 95 of americans can fill out their taxes on a giant postcard. I mean, think about the beauty of that, in that whatthe money it saves, the money it saves at the irs, and the simplicity of it. Lauren thats really attractive to people. Do it on a postcard, make it easier. Is it realistic . Jamie so, the postcard language was still kept in what we saw last week from, you know, kind of the republican leadership. But it was in quotations, meaning its probably not actually a postcard, right . But simpler, yes, this plan will make things simpler by removing a lot of credits and deductions, and more standard filers using standard deduction, that is easier. So, this does simplify filing for a lot of individuals. Lauren all right, thanks so much, jamie, for your insight there. Jamie hopkins from the American College of Financial Services, thank you so much. Jamie thank you again. Lauren well, next on nbc10 issue, a program that provides lowcost Internet Service to lowincome americans gets a big boost. Well tell you about that and a new push to keep kids and seniors safe online. After 8 years of chris christie, is kim guadagno the change new jersey really needs . Guadagno is christies handpicked successor. Says shes proud to be part of the christie administration. Guadagno was Chris Christies right hand as our schools came under attack, Critical Services were underfunded, and our Credit Rating was downgraded. 11 times. From the bridge to the beach, weve seen it all, and weve had enough. Kim guadagno isnt the change we need. Kim guadagno isnt lauren comcasts Internet Essentials Program has connected more than 4 million lowincome americans to the internet. That includes nearly 200,000 from our area. Now the program has an additional goal, to keep kids and seniors safe online. Comcast is the Parent Company of nbc10. And with me now are comcast Senior Executive, Vice President , and chief diversity officer, david l. Cohen, and Pennsylvania Attorney general josh shapiro. Welcome, gentlemen. David cohen lauren, thanks for having us. Josh shapiro good to be with you. Lauren thank you for being here. David, im going to start with you. Now, you have been making some changes to this program, adding speed and wifi spots as well. You are now getting into the arena of safety and talking about that. Tell us about what youre doing. David so, i think the whole strength of this program has been its integrated approach to getting people connected to the internet. And the number one barrier to adopting the internet is this bucket of Digital Literacy, digital relevance skills. People dont know how to use the internet, they dont know how to use a computer, theyre afraid of the internet, afraid of being scammed, afraid of their kids being subjected to child predators. But we have connected these hundreds of thousands of people in pennsylvania, millions of people across the country. And so, i was talking with the attorney general, actually we were saying a month ago, about this problem. And i think we, sort of sitting there, had an aha moment that there was a great dual purpose project here. First, to help to break down the barriers of fear, to be able to educate seniors and families about how to protect themselves on the internet. And then second, since were connecting all these people on the internet, to make sure that they are in fact safe and can protect themselves. And out of that conversation was born this Partnership Among the attorney general, the city of philadelphia, through Philadelphia Corporation for aging, comcast, and nbc10 telemundo, and telemundo as well to produce educational materials about internet safety, to promote them, to promote them on the station here, to promote them on our website, to promote them through psa advertising, and take advantage of the materials and the expertise that exists in the Attorney Generals Office to make sure that pennsylvanians are safe on the internet. Lauren and those conversations are happening in different ways. How are you getting the word out . David so, they do happen in different ways, and i think one of the secrets of communication in this day and age is to use every communication source available. So, nbc10 will be running stories around internet safety. Were going to be using you and your colleagues to produce videos that well be able to use on social media and to use on our internet essentials website. Were going to devote a significant amount of Public Service announcement inventory across the commonwealth of pennsylvania to this, plan on making a psa with the attorney general. The attorney General Office itself has outreach on this subject. Were all going to use the bully pulpit to talk about the importance of internet safety. And well use our regular website and promotional and educational materials. And then last, we are partnering with a series of nonprofits who are providing in person Digital Literacy training sessions that will include a significant component of internet safety. Lauren specifically for seniors, what is the most important safety lesson for them to keep in mind . Josh well, the commitment that david l. Cohen and comcast have made to get hundreds of thousands of people across this country and so many thousands here in the philadelphia region connected is extraordinary. I mean, its really life changing. But with that life changing connection comes great risk. And so, we want to make sure that kids are safe online, and weve put a lot of resources and emphasis on that. We also want to make sure seniors get online, that theyre not afraid of it, and then when they are online, theyre very careful, particularly from scams. And so, i want to commend comcast, i want to commend nbc for this commitment to our community, not just for plugging people in, but for making sure theyre safe when theyre online. We know that 62 of seniors are connected right now. And thanks to the work that comcast is doing, that number amongst lowerincome seniors is climbing. We also know that seniors are really susceptible to scams. Thats one of the big priorities of my administrations is focusing on that. And one of the key ways we can help reduce scams is by educating seniors about the dangers, about the things that they should be looking out for. Thanks to this commitment and partnership with comcast, were going to actually be able to double our reach of connecting with seniors and providing them with the educational materials that they need so they can not only stop a scam for themselves, but combat them, and educate other seniors who are online to make sure theyre careful as well. Last point here, the average senior who is scammed online, successfully scammed online, loses 36,000. Billions are fleeced from the pockets of seniors across our country each and every year. This program with comcast to protect seniors online is really critical to stopping those kinds of scams. Lauren what are some of the things that you hear in your office . What are some of the scams that are out there . Give people an idea, if you could, of things that they should be keeping an ear out for. Josh top three scams we get. Number one, the grandparent scam, where you get an email or you get one of those annoying phone calls, and they say, we have your grandchild. And in order for your grandchild to be freed up from this difficult situation, send us money, wire us money, send us gift cards. Thats one big one. The other big one we get, and these come online and by phone, are those annoying calls from supposedly the irs, telling you that you owe back taxes, pay up now. Let me tell folks who are watching, if you get a call from the irs and theyre demanding that you pay up now, hang up immediately, call my office, and let us know. Its a scam. Or if you prefer, if youre connected to the internet thanks to comcast or others, email us at scams attorneygeneral. Gov, and make sure that were aware of that. And then the third one, and you see this a lot online, when particularly seniors are online, you know, the email that says, send us 300 or 400. It may not seem like a lot of money to some, but its a lot of money to many seniors. Send us that and well get the malware off your computer. Well, there is no malware on your computer, this is a scam. So, those are the big kind of scams we get, you know, we hear about from seniors. And were dedicated to try and root out each and every scam. And thanks to this partnership with comcast, were going to be able to reach more seniors and educate them, which is our best defense against these kinds of scams. David lauren, ill say obviously internet essentials is a program targeted to lowincome seniors, but one of the powerful elements of this program is that these scams impact not just lowincome seniors, these impact seniors of all sorts of income levels in the state. And you asked about Distribution Channels for this. Were going to be reaching seniors at every income level, not just lowincome seniors, and i think really helping to make a dent in the scams and almost the terrorizing that occurs of seniors online. So, its a program with a much broader implication than just lowincome seniors qualifying for internet essentials. Lauren attorney general shapiro, i cant let you without asking you about something important thats been happening this week, which is the former ceo of equifax testifying in washington. I know you are leading an investigation into what happened there. What are you finding . Josh were leading a 47 state investigation into the equifax data breach, which has impacted 5. 4 million pennsylvanians, roughly 75 of our adult population. Weve subpoenaed documents from equifax. We expect to be receiving those materials very quickly. Let melet me tell you, we will get to the bottom of this investigation, we will hold equifax accountable. In the meantime, equifax has demonstrated some horrible corporate behavior, forcing people to pay to have their credit frozen, forcing them to sign up for Different Things that they dont want to sign up for with equifax. Weve shut that down. Weve also shut down equifaxs attempt to stop people or to force people to give up their legal rights. So, while the investigations ongoing, were trying to stop this bad corporate behavior. I want pennsylvanians to know, i want americans to know well get to the bottom of it, well hold equifax accountable, well recover any funds that are lost. And i hope this also sparks a broader discussion amongst policy makers on how to best protect our data going forward. We need tougher laws in this area, both on data breach and on cyber security. Were trying to lead the way in pennsylvania to do that. Lauren thank you so much. All right, comcast Senior ExecutiveVice President david cohen, and Pennsylvania Attorney general josh shapiro, thanks so much for joining us. Still to come, well show you how some local students got a big surprise when they learned about what this program will mean for them. Plus, a warning from a local dermatologist, what looks like an innocent freckle could be something more serious. She also has an inexpensive face fix for those of us who spent too much time in the sun this summer. Lauren many of us are getting smarter about checking ourselves for skin cancer. When caught early, even melanoma, the most dangerous form of the disease, is very treatable, but melanoma can be sneaky. In addition to the dark, scary mole we typically think of, it can look like a simple bruise or a dark line under a fingernail or toenail. And thats not the only way melanoma can surprise us. Nbc10s Rosemary Connors got the lowdown from dr. Christine stanko of bryn mawr dermatology. Rosemary connors thanks for being with us, doctor. Christine stanko thank you. Rosemary so, in terms of skin cancer, i think people think they can recognize it, theyre going to see that scary looking mole. But in reality, it can be small spots that you really should be aware of. Christine believe it or not, the most deadly form of skin cancer, melanoma, can be flat. It can look like a freckle. It can be very deceiving. So, thats why its a very sneaky condition and scary. Rosemary i think people, when they think of melanoma, they think that it mutates, it is enlarged, it may be bumpy, but youre saying just the opposite. Christine in a nutshell, probably the best thing to look for it is change. If somethings changing, getting bigger, changing in color, in size, something thats new or different. Rosemary in terms of people who were in the summer down the shore all summer like they were, people who were on the beach all summer long, the damage done, is there any way to fix it . Christine uv isits a carcinogen. Its why the World Health Organization has declared it actually a carcinogen. So, there is a certain amount that we cannot totally undo. But if you stop the exposure, its almost like i try to explain it, its almost like smoking. Its never too late to stop. Now, there might be some baseline damage that you cant completely undo, but the body can repair itself. So, its never too late. A lot of people say, oh, the damage is done. You know, i was burned as a child. And its like, well, i mean, to some extent, there is some damage that wont go away and we need to keep an eye on things. But you know, its not too late. Rosemary what advice do you give to people who want to improve their skin, improve the look of it . I mean, especially damage, you know, and spots . Christine daily sunscreen, no brainer. It not only limits skin cancer risk, but helps all the antiaging concerns people have, and can help reverse some of the sun damage. Other simple, over the counter options, things like hydroxy acids, products that contain those ingredients. There actually is a product now called differin. It used to be a prescription, its now over the counter. Its in the retinoid category. Many people know the name retina. It helps acne, some people know it for that, but it also helps aging, which is sun damage, its all part of that process. So, these are, like, simple, less expensive, over the counter options. I mean, we can go through, you know, facial peels, lasers, inoffice treatments if someones a little more motivated and has a larger budget. There are options. Rosemary all right. Well, thank you so much, dr. Stanko, really appreciate you coming in. Christine all right, thank you so much. Lauren and remember, skin cancer is colorblind. You dont get a free pass if you have a darker skin tone. Melanoma and other skin cancers are rarer in people of color, but it happens. Jamaican singer bob marley died from a genetic form of melanoma. Hes a doubledipping mepension padder. Y. Doubledipping pension padder he had two government jobs, two paychecks and padded his pension along the way. Hes a doubledipping pension padder now hes making over 300,000 a year as a lobbyist and a senator. Doubledipping pension padder so hes all set thanks to you, the taxpayer. Which is why Steve Sweeney had no problem voting to raise your taxes 145 times, including the largest gas tax hike in history. Sounds about right, coming from a. Doubledipping pension padder sweet 4k tv, mr. Peterson. Thanks. Pretty psyched. Did you get fios too . No. Mr. Peterson, fios is a 100 fiber opticnetwork. What does that mean . Think about it. If you got an awesome new car youd put the best gas in it, right. So why hook up your Awesome Technology to anything other than a fiberoptic network . I got to go. Peterson. Petersons wife. Counting on you guys. Your internet deserves the 100 fiberoptic network. And now get our Fastest Internet ever plus tv and phone for just 79. 99 per month. Lauren some local students got a big surprise from comcast, something that can help them with their schoolwork. Each was given a brand new laptop. Senior executive Vice President david l. Cohen passed them out to their new owners. The students are from Beverly Hills middle school in upper darby. Thats it for this edition of nbc10 issue. Thanks for joining us, have a great sunday. Captions paid for by Nbcuniversal Television martin truex jr. Wins at chicagoland. I never thought id maic it to where im at today. Ive won a few championships and if you want to come up and take it from me, you have to do all that stuff to get there. You want to dominate every race. We feel as though were right on target to go out there and repeat as