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IRS data prove Trump tax cuts benefited middle, working-class Americans most | TheHill

  

Category:  News & Politics

Via:  texan1211  •  3 years ago  •  9 comments

By:   Justin Haskins, Opinion Contributor (TheHill)

IRS data prove Trump tax cuts benefited middle, working-class Americans most | TheHill
Republicans' 2017 tax reform law did exactly what was promised: It lowered taxes for all income groups.

S E E D E D   C O N T E N T


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In order for BBB to become law, Democratic Senate leadership will need to convince moderates such as Sens. Kyrsten SinemaKyrsten SinemaPhotos of the Week: Schumer, ASU protest and sea turtlesGreen groups spend big to promote climate policyThe Hill's Morning Report - Presented by Facebook - Congress avoids shutdownMORE (D-Ariz.) and Joe ManchinJoe ManchinOvernight Energy & Environment — Presented by ExxonMobil — Dems press drillers over methane leaksOvernight Health Care — Presented by March of Dimes — Abortion access for 65M women at stakeJoe Manchin should embrace paid leave — nowMORE (D-W.Va.) that the legislation's $2.4 trillion price tag can be offset by expanding the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and its enforcement efforts while imposing substantial tax reform measures.

Congressional Democrats have argued that one of the best ways to pay for the legislation is to raise taxes on wealthy households, who, according to many on the left, have benefited disproportionately and unfairly from the 2017 tax reform law passed by Republicans and signed by former President TrumpDonald TrumpHillicon Valley — State Dept. employees targets of spywareOhio Republican Party meeting ends abruptly over anti-DeWine protestersJan. 6 panel faces new test as first witness pleads the FifthMORE. The latest data, however, prove that this claim is pure mythology.

Income data published by the IRS clearly show that on average all income brackets benefited substantially from the Republicans' tax reform law, with the biggest beneficiaries being working and middle-income filers, not the top 1 percent, as so many Democrats have argued.

A careful analysis of the IRS tax data, one that includes the effect of tax credits and other reforms to the tax code, shows that filers with an adjusted gross income of $15,000 to $50,000 enjoyed an average tax cut of 16 percent to 26 percent in 2018, the first year Republicans' Tax Cuts and Jobs Act went into effect and the most recent year for which data are available.

Filers who earned $50,000 to $100,000 received a tax break of about 15 percent to 17 percent, and those earning $100,000 to $500,000 in adjusted gross income saw their personal income taxes cut by around 11 percent to 13 percent.

By comparison, no income group with an AGI of at least $500,000 received an average tax cut exceeding 9 percent, and the average tax cut for brackets starting at $1 million was less than 6 percent. (For more detailed data, see my table published here.)

That means most middle-income and working-class earners enjoyed a tax cut that was at least double the size of tax cuts received by households earning $1 million or more.

What's more, IRS data show earners in higher-income brackets contributed a bigger slice of the total income tax revenue pie following the passage of the tax reform law than they had in the previous year.

In fact, every income bracket with filers earning $200,000 or more increased its tax burden in 2018 compared to 2017, and every income bracket with a top limit lower than $200,000 paid a smaller proportion of the total personal tax revenue collected.

That means that Republicans' tax reform law resulted in the tax code becoming slightly more progressive — the exact opposite of what Democrats have claimed over the past four years.

The IRS data further show that the tax reform law - which included a variety of business tax cuts, including a large reduction in the corporate income tax rate - spurred economic mobility.

Every income bracket with a top level lower than $25,000 experienced a reduction in its number of filers, and every income bracket above $25,000 increased in size, with the biggest gains occurring in the brackets with a floor of at least $100,000.

The fact is, Republicans' 2017 tax reform law did exactly what was promised: It lowered taxes for all income groups, provided the greatest benefits for middle-income households and spurred economic growth that helped to reduce poverty and improve prosperity.

It would be a grave mistake for Democrats to eliminate key parts of this important legislation.

Justin Haskins (Jhaskins@heartland.org) is director of the Socialism Research Center at The Heartland Institute and the co-author, with Glenn Beck, of the forthcoming book, "The Great Reset: Joe Biden and the Rise of 21st Century Fascism."

TagsInternal Revenue ServiceJoe BidenKyrsten SinemaDonald TrumpJoe ManchinTaxIncome tax in the United StatesTax Cuts and Jobs ActProgressive taxTrump tax cuts


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Texan1211
Professor Principal
1  seeder  Texan1211    3 years ago
The fact is, Republicans' 2017 tax reform law did exactly what was promised: It lowered taxes for all income groups, provided the greatest benefits for middle-income households and spurred economic growth that helped to reduce poverty and improve prosperity. It would be a grave mistake for Democrats to eliminate key parts of this important legislation.

The problem for taxpayers is that Democrats have lied so long and hard about the Trump tax cuts, they will try to shoot them down no matter what the actual data shows.

Democrats always whine about the rich not paying their fair share, but data shows clearly they do.  And if they are not, why then are so many Democrats fighting so damn hard to give the wealthy a huge tax break with SALT changes?

 
 
 
Tacos!
Professor Guide
1.1  Tacos!  replied to  Texan1211 @1    3 years ago

You raise the interesting aspect of talking about stuff like this, in that it all depends on the perspective you choose. Percentages are one perspective and actual dollars are another perspective. Thus while 10% is greater than 1%, 10% of 100K is the same in dollars as 1% of 1 Million. Both are 10K.

What I think really matters is the impact on people’s lives. 10K or 100K wouldn’t mean that much to the person with 1 Million. Yes, 100K is a lot, and it’s 10% of 1 Million, but they still have 900K! They still have 9 times the wealth of the person with 100K. Surely, they can get by on that.

 
 
 
Texan1211
Professor Principal
2  seeder  Texan1211    3 years ago

I will wait for our tax professionals to tell us how the story is inaccurate, and how the IRS manipulated the data to make Republicans look good.

 
 
 
JohnRussell
Professor Principal
3  JohnRussell    3 years ago
That means most middle-income and working-class earners enjoyed a tax cut that was at least double the size of tax cuts received by households earning $1 million or more.

That is disingenuousness to say the least.

The worth of the tax cut is not in percentages, it is in dollars.  When critics talk about 85% of the Trump tax cut going to the rich they are talking about dollars. 

Why was there any percentage of tax cut for the rich? 

 
 
 
Texan1211
Professor Principal
3.1  seeder  Texan1211  replied to  JohnRussell @3    3 years ago
That is disingenuousness to say the least.

The data is the data, JR.

I hadn't really expected anyone to prove post 2 so quickly, so thank you for that.

Why was there any percentage of tax cut for the rich?

Why do Democrats insist on giving the rich MORE tax cuts if what YOU claim is true?

 
 
 
XXJefferson51
Senior Guide
3.1.1  XXJefferson51  replied to  Texan1211 @3.1    3 years ago

Not to mention that the rich had much of their tax cuts clawed back by the SALT deduction caps.  That cut the “cost” of the tax cuts from 1.6 trillion to 1.1 trillion.  

 
 
 
Ronin2
Professor Quiet
3.2  Ronin2  replied to  JohnRussell @3    3 years ago

Really? Even when presented with data by the IRS; which is hardly a conservative institution; you still pull the same damn leftist BS talking point?

What do you have to say about Democrats raising the SALT cap limit so that it is pretty much worthless? That is a huge give away to the rich, mostly in blue states.

Reality is that Democrats love the rich. Most of them are a part of that class that serve at the federal level. They aren't going to do anything to hurt their donor meal tickets or themselves. They will destroy the middle class to make sure the rich get richer; and the poor get more benefits. They have proven that repeatedly.

 
 
 
Texan1211
Professor Principal
3.2.1  seeder  Texan1211  replied to  Ronin2 @3.2    3 years ago

Even when the data tells us otherwise, some will pretend it doesn't clearly show what it shows.

 
 
 
Sparty On
Professor Principal
4  Sparty On    3 years ago

Doh!

 
 

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