Recent times the democrats dont like to see tax cutting theyd like to see tax increases on the personal side the present will likely take a big kid on the business side he claimed if that rich get far more dollars back in the middle class. That its back today the entire world can see that emerge is coming back and america is coming back rapidly and strongly. Also coming up tonight the European Union gets tough on poland saying the government looks more and more like a threat to democracy. The commissions can only conclude that there is now a clear risk of a serious breach of the rule of law. And we begin the day with one of the two things we all can be sure of in life taxes today the u. S. Congress passed legislation to radically overhaul the entire tax code the first reform in thirty years it is the first significant win for u. S. President trump allowing him to make good on one of his Main Campaign promises but not one democrat today voted for the reform washington as politically polarized as ever and this reform has all of the hallmarks of America First in terms of trade and doing business abroad and europes five biggest economies they are warmed the finance ministers of germany france italy britain and spain have even written to the u. S. Treasury secretary warning that the tax reforms could be illegal by violating International Fair trade agreements we will talk about that theer in just a moment here is how u. S. President trump reacted today when the bill was passed by congress. This is this is going to Mean Companies are going to be coming back you know i campaigned on the fact that were not going to lose our companies anymore theyre going to stay in our country and theyre going to stay in our country and youve been seeing whats been happening even at this prospect but they have tremendous enthusiasm right now in this country and we have companies pouring back into our country we are going to bring at least four trillion dollars back into this country money that was frozen overseas and in parts in worlds and some of them dont even like us and they had the money well theyre not going to have the money long and. Its really. I guess its very simple when you think you havent heard this expression but we are making America Great again you havent heard that. You know the word has heard that many times and what does it mean tonight for with me here at the big table is nicholas castles he is an analyst in transatlantic politics of familiar faces here at the w. Especially when were talking about economic ties between the European Union and the u. S. Its good to have you here so we just heard the u. S. President saying that this is a huge victory historic victory for who. This leak is after a year has passed without any legislation bearing his name or his agenda finally we have the the huge big and amazing trump win that he promises all. Thats almost about its become pennies of course get a big tax cut. Tax rate is cut from thirty five to twenty one percent. The middle class as gets an individual tax credit for. Up to eight years eight year issue. And the deficit is will be boosted from one point five trillion to two trillion depending on who you ask ironically Wharton School of business. Says its way closer to two trillion yeah i mean so much for fiscal conservatism especially when youre looking at the republicans being in power in washington i want to talk about this individual tax cut that the president has been talking about when i was looking at the numbers today and if you read the legislation in twenty twenty five the individual tax relief expires all together republicans agreed to let that tax cut expire in order to make the Corporate Tax credits permanent now the result is going to mean in twenty twenty seven for more than half of all americans theres going to be a tax increase now that is what nancy pelosi meant when she said that they were robbing from the poor she right not only the poor but also from future generations because they deficit and the rate you. Especially the middle class has an direct impact on how you know that you as an average american can pass through the social strata of the america of American Society mobility is basically at a halt right now already we know this and it its not looking good for those who tried to you know get out of college get a job get prost prosper within American Society the rich the very rich and we have studies picotee for example has published just two weeks ago we iterate yet again that the very rich the most percentile of american societies will accumulate ever more wealth and this is not you know designed to change that let me ask you this if trump were to be a two term president he would leave office just as the individual tax cuts expire now do you think that is purely coincidental i dont think that the american president really cares whether they will i dont want another republicans in congress this will give this will give them eight years to say look what weve done for you is that it stops and then they can blame the next guy i dont think that they work this way i think the fallacy is even worse i think they believe in trickle down economics just like during the reagan years the deficit exploded and they thought the wealth accumulated by the very very rich the super rich would trickle down to those in the middle class and even to the were doing again this is basically trickle down two point exactly and since history obviously doesnt repeat itself we will see that this time again the american. American society and the American Economy will have an even harder time to recover because if you dont have money you can you know unlike the Obama Administration not put money into the economy when you needed or you cant spend what you dont have and when you you know if. You have the the Interest Rate at zero percent and you create a deficit the next time a crisis with it will hit and make no mistake it is well hit there is no capacity to actually you know protect the very poor and the middle class from the economic fallout these republican tax laws have created i want to take this now and i want to shift to the worries that are coming from overseas particularly here in europe the biggest economies are alarmed about these tax reforms the finance ministers from germany france italy the u. K. And spain they wrote a letter to the u. S. Secretary of treasury treasury in it to say that the government the u. S. Should stick to its International Obligations in the show you part of the letter that they wrote they went on to say that the inclusion of certain less conventional International Tax provisions could contravene the u. S. Is double taxation treaties and may risk having a major distorted impact on International Trade now that you know theres a lot of language there are going to be a jargon what theyre basically saying is what youre doing is youre violating the trees that youve signed in terms of fair trade with you have with your allies is that is what we just saw pass to become law today is it going to be illegal. I mean its law of the land in the United States so far its not illegal but internationally its almost certain to violate w t o law. Because the border adjustment tax that taxes imports even for american producing Companies Like walmart. Or. To walmart because they are the biggest they import a good many goods from abroad. Reply them resell them repackage them they need these International Supply lines without them they dont make a profit so it hurts american businesses in the long run the border adjustment tax because every import becomes more expensive in a situation where the American Economy is not producing too many goods as we all know there are. Importing alliance and thereby violate International Trade all right lol im still there were what about europes concerns that i mean i asked at the beginning of the show where youre forced to pick up the trump tax tab is there anything that the e. U. Can do if its facing a situation that could create a tax war or trade war i dont think that a tax war is looming because especially Continental Europe depends on its taxation regime just running after it like some german commentators have asked for today is unlikely because this isnt the doesnt work that way what is short to happen is that the European Union as one unit will go before the w t o dispute settlement body and you know which we know would take years or nickels i mean lets be honest it takes a long time you know it actually doesnt its not in cases that are that clear cut normally you have eighteen months in this case you could cut it down to nine between nine and thirteen months and then have your ruling which by a negative consensus will everybody would have to not agree to for it not to pass means the u. S. Actually has almost no leverage in hindering this process to go through were going to come back on the ship and we have more time to talk about that because i have a feeling there will be a reason to talk about just that a good because because as always thank you very much great insights and you. Still to come on the day life on the frontline in Eastern Ukraine an exclusive report from a village caught between sides leaving residents with no way out and thats coming up in about seven minutes. Never before has the European Union gone this far to punish one of its own today the e. U. Triggered article seven and said poland is becoming a threat to the rule of all the e. U. Warning it poland does not change course it could lose its Voting Rights brussels and more solid theyve been at it for months now europe accusing the government of antidemocratic creep well it came to a head last week when polands parliament passed legislation that effectively allows lawmakers to choose the countrys Supreme Court justices. A landmark decision was on the table as the European Commission gathered in brussels at stake one of the values enshrined at the core of the european identity the rule of law which the Commission Says is under threat in poland. At the center of the rallies and series of reforms effectively giving parliament the power to appoint judges. Within a period of two years a significant numbers of laws have been adopted thirteen in total which puts at serious risk the independence of the judiciary and the separation of powers in poland. The commission has taken the unprecedented step of invoking article seven of the e. U. Treaty theoretically that could lead to sanctions like the suspension of polands Voting Rights but its unlikely to come to that hungary as already promised a veto such steps. Nevertheless its a highly symbolic move one which will probably only increase tensions between brussels and. The polish government says its being singled out for unfair treatment. In fact the point is to punish poland for having an independent policy and for the fact that it stopped being the meek obedient country it was when the previous government was in power. The ruling Justice Party has made judicial reform one of its key priorities and says the Current System has too many vestiges of the communist era maia to buy inefficiency and corruption but critics say the legislation is a bit by the leader of the rightwing Justice Party kaczynski to enhance his power. Over recent months tens of thousands of poles have taken to the streets to voice their concerns up the legislation that government remains for. Now the e. U. Has given three months to consider changes to its plans it seems unlikely that it will stand down. All right when to take the story out of brussels our correspondent is standing by for us going to you georg so weve got the polish president here saying that he will sign these controversial laws is this a sign that poland has no intention of battling to pressure from brussels. Its a brand Everything Else would have been a surprise to brussels pretty much expected that the standoff would continue at least in the short run and look for the European Union this step has been really difficult with a heavy heart is the words of france to munns used when he took this step and the real hope is that it will never come really that we see article seven in full actions with the full sanctions of it but the hope is that the threat at least will bring the polish side to the negotiating table to start a dialogue that is the chance that is now on the table and the time window we have is three months until the polish can still turn the tables here and what about articles been it has been triggered what will happen next well once these three months are over the next step is basically a warning now what we have here is a recommendation of the European Union and this now would have to be approved by the European Parliament which its likely that it would approve it and also by the European Council by twenty two Member States thats a four fifths majority in the European Council and you can pretty much expect that the forefronts to months made this announcement today he checked that the have the majority in his pockets and once we have that warning that basically would open up the way for the real sanctions that is a more difficult step it would take. A unanimous decision in the European Council and hungary has already said it would be told such a step and if poland does not budge from this what other measures then does the European Union have to bring poland in line with the Democratic Values and rules that everyone in the e. U. Adheres to. Well article seven is clearly the sharpest tool in the ears garden shed but there is also an infringement procedure already that is now being taken a further step fall forward that could end up in foreign of the European Court of justice and carries half the financial fines which is also a mid term tool i would say in the very long run we could see that the cultural funds that poland receives and lets bear in mind poland is the biggest net beneficiary of e. U. Funds and that these funds could be attached to conditions but that is something for the long term. Are a game of months on this story for us tonight in brussels georg thank you very much. Tensions are flaring up once again in Eastern Ukraine along the five hundred kilometer long separation line between Government Troops and russian backed separatists three ukrainian soldiers were killed and at least eight civilian seriously injured just last week or just days before this latest escalation our Eastern European correspondent Nick Connelly visited the region and met People Living on the front line in the small village of. Where nic is normally based in kiev tonight he joins me from bulgaria where hes on a somber good evening to you nic so lets talk about how difficult it is for reporters to even get access to the part of ukraine where you were getting. First of all to get to the circle. Area along. The Ukrainian Military that meets up with more of the western journalists but thats a separate mission we had to spend a few weeks to. Get permission but its actually located beyond a checkpoint really. In the shadow from its only about one hundred meters the from from last place we were in that village so that was difficult once we. Didnt feel like being stage managed by the military that this is a very different picture to the situation on the other side of the separation. Basically proven. Near or impossible for western to get into they perhaps let people in but then jealous end up stuck in a Hotel Village in it all so this is a bit of a difficult region to work in very conscious of those constraints but i think. The day we were there we were able to react and report. From the front why its. A single hold road is all the connect the village of to the outside world the ridge that overshadows the village is already deep in separatist held territory here the front line begins where peoples gardens and. Because one hundred forty mostly elderly residents are dependent on outside help since public transport broke down the nearest supermarket is several hours walk away its only thanks to this volunteer. That International Aid is able to reach those who needed most. The weaker the village is cut off people here have no way of getting out people here are just about surviving mostly thanks to what they can grow in their gardens. The. Twenty seven year old catcher takes us to her house on the far edge of the village. Three children left in trouble all the other families have long since left a single mother relies on help from her parents and n. G. O. S her youngest son is just eighteen months old begin. For the last two weeks theyve been shooting every single day without a break i used to be scared but now you just get used to it after a while when the conflict broke out the family used to take cover in an outside cellar since that was hit they hide inside. So that the summer this is the best protected room the one least likely to get hit on that side we are protected by the house i was born and from that side we barely get anything coming at us and if there is then there are trees touch wood this house has never had a direct hit so far. One of the separatists only seventy meters away there on the next street. Bridge in the distance locals tell us serves as a Vantage Point for separatist snipers. Shows us where a direct hit brought down the roof of the cellar she used to hide in yes if i had somewhere to go that was really mine id leave but just to be tolerated i dont want that ive tried that twice already. Beyond catches house only ruins remain and the front line trenches most of them buried deep enough to stand up in safely. We meet to ukrainian soldiers on guard duty there also father and son mostly. Where we are theres plenty of shooting mostly at night its a bit quieter during the day but it happens. Its december and darkness falls early and with the shooting starts its time to leave. Just a few kilometers down the road is the my old good checkpoint one of only a handful of places where civilians can cross between government and separatist held territory. Up to ten thousand people make this journey every day. My father died ive just been to his funeral. Here i went from my pension i live in horn of congo to autumn off for my pension its really badly organized particularly on the separatist tide. But even the checkpoints aunt entirely safe in recent months this crossing alone has come under attack three times. Its a three hour wait out in the cold for these people here queuing to cross the circle separation line that divides ukrainian Government Troops from separatists its now been almost three years since the front moved in this region cutting off the just seven kilometers behind me from its suburbs on the ukrainian held side. These checkpoints were set up as a temporary stopgap but with political efforts to resolve the conflict going nowhere in a hurry theyve long since become a permanent fixture of life here in Eastern Ukraine. People watching the. Why dont the. Most people who can afford to leave. Many old people and. The means to go she has three kids all of preschool age and. Million displaced people from the conflict internally so. There are many places that exist already. And when you look at. All of a. Basically. Playing chicken with the. First step. Is. To bring in your. Ground and. People. The. Controls and prevent misunderstandings and confusion confused accidents so there was a real feeling in the last few days with the civilian casualties and the deaths and. Things could be going wrong today from minsk from the that theyre going to bring in a new this weekend and. So this is really you know. This is the. Yeah but a serious situation looks rather bleak as well our new connally on the story for us tonight nic as always thank you very much excellent reporting. Its been nearly three months since the elections here in germany and we are still waiting for a new Government Coalition partners seem to come and go the talks are dragging on and on and lets remind ourselves what german chancellor Angela Merkel said on election night. Confident are you that a good will have a stable government by christmas but im always optimistic thats my nature. And many is now i think being calm is what about you know what a way to have. I remember that well i its almost time for santa claus ms merkel or maybe the german chancellor can draw a string from knowing that she will go down in his in the history books because before today the longest time required in postwar history for germany to form a new government was eighty six days today we hit eighty seven congratulations a new record and expect that number to climb to well above one hundred new talks will begin on january seventh maybe just maybe there will be a new government in time ms merkel for valentines day well the day is nearly done but as ever the conversation continues online youll find us on twitter either at g. W. News or you can write directly to me brit off t. V. Dont forget to use the hash tag of the day and remember no matter what happens between now and then tomorrow is another day well see you then everybody. Floyd. Culture. Hair. What about superman play. Superfood stylish style icon dont let those. Lifestyle your up. Your room next to you double. 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