WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump is hitting the road Thursday to brag about his various temporary cuts for taxes on tip income, overtime and the elderly, even though the new law gives the vast majority of Americans far less than his tax increases on imported goods have cost them.
Republicans have long hoped bigger tax returns for Americans could be the start of a political comeback for Trump and his party, who are in danger of losing both chambers of Congress in this year’s midterm elections. Trump’s trip to Las Vegas is intended to kickstart their sales job, although voters don’t seem inclined to buy, with discontent with the economy at record highs.
A key reason why: Trump’s tariffs, the majority of which were ruled illegal earlier this year, on average cost American households $1,000 more in higher prices, amounting to the largest tax increase in decades. That pain has now been further exacerbated by spiking gasoline prices thanks to Trump’s war against Iran.
In contrast, the tax changes in his “One Big Beautiful Bill” save the vast majority of households several hundred dollars, while a few favored groups are receiving a break worth thousands of dollars.
What’s more, even though Trump’s White House and congressional Republicans have attempted to rebrand the package as the “Working Families Tax Cut,” more than 73% of those benefits are flowing to households earning between $100,000 and $500,000 a year, according to an analysis by the Tax Policy Center.
