Trump’s Tax Cuts Didn’t Benefit U.S. Workers, Made Rich Companies Richer, Analysis Finds

[Stapes]

https://www.newsweek.com/republican-tax ... 9DpRrPGDl4



President Donald Trump’s corporate tax cuts might not have trickled down to American workers in the way that he suggested they would.
Trump and Republican leadership have long touted their tax cuts as a massive boon to America’s working class, if not through direct tax reductions or refunds, then through the trickle-down effect of bonuses and wage increases from their employers who receive massive corporate cuts. “Tax reform is working,” Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan said in January, mentioning Apple’s decision to reward a bonus of $2,500 in stock grants to some Apple employees. “Workers are coming home and telling their families they got a bonus, or they got a raise or they got better benefits.”

But a new analysis of all Fortune 500 companies found only 4.3 percent of workers will receive a one-time bonus or wage increase tied to the business tax cuts, while businesses received nine times more in cuts than what they passed on to their workers, according to Americans for Tax Fairness, a political advocacy group devoted to tax reform. The analysis also found that companies spent 37 times as much on stock buybacks than they did on bonuses and increased wages for workers.
The study looked at corporate data, news reports and independent analyses of the top companies in the United States, which represent more than two-thirds of the gross domestic product, and analyzed changes in wages and share buybacks since the announcement of the Republican tax plan in December.
“There are too many disingenuous claims that the Trump and Republican tax cuts for corporations will trickle down to the middle class,” said Frank Clemente, executive director of Americans for Tax Fairness. “President Trump and Republicans gave huge tax cuts to big drug companies, big oil and other corporations, but corporations are giving back little—if anything—to working families,” said Clemente. “In fact, this [analysis shows] that 433 corporations out of the Fortune 500 have announced no plans to share their tax cuts with employees.”

The newest projections by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office found that the Republican tax plan led to, in part, a 2018 deficit $242 billion higher than previously estimated.
Roughly 36 percent of Americans approve of the Republican tax cuts, according to a March Quinnipiac University Poll and a CNBC poll found that 52 percent of working adults said they had not seen a change to their paychecks since the cuts were passed.
In January, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said 90 percent of all working adults would see increases in their paychecks because of the cuts.

[CaptQuint]

Remember when he promised a huge middle class tax cut a few weeks before the 2018 election? Literally just pulled that out of his ass, and then never mentioned it again after the election.

But don’t call Trump supporters morons!

[CaptQuint]

Gold Star widow "shocked" by new tax bill on sons' survivor benefits

Coronado, Calif. — Many Americans were shocked by their tax bills this month. The new law was especially costly for our nation's Gold Star families, who saw the taxes owed on their survivor benefits skyrocket.

Theresa Jones has been a single mom to Anthony and Hunter for almost six years. Her husband Landon, a Navy chopper pilot, died in the Red Sea during Operation Enduring Freedom in 2013.

It's been a challenge for Jones, especially financially. They've been able to stay afloat because of the survivor benefits they receive, aid that came with an unexpected surprise at tax time.

"When I saw that tax bill I was shocked at how much these boys owed on benefits that were given to them," Jones said.

The boys each received about $15,000 in survivor benefits last year. Jones was hit with a tax bill of $5,400 for them, up from $1,100 from the previous year.


"That's how they have a roof over their head. That's how they have food in their mouths. That's why the lights are on right now. That's how we survive every month," Jones said.

Because a surviving spouse can't receive both Veteran Affairs and Defense Department benefits simultaneously in full, Gold Star parents often sign the taxable DOD benefits over to their children. But the new tax law lumps Gold Star children into a bracket known as the "kiddie tax" at 37 percent, much higher than their previous tax rate.


Middle-class homeowners hit by the new tax law: "This is going to wipe us out"
"We got lumped into that and somebody had said to me, 'Welcome to the top four percent.' I said, 'My 5-year-old is not top four percent,'" Jones said.

The White House did not respond to CBS News request for comment.

Besides her most important job as mom, Jones works part time and is going to school. With the new tax burden, something will have to give. She hopes it won't be her home.

"For the boys, it's all they've known and I would hate to take that away from them. They've already had so much taken away from them," she said.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/gold-star- ... -benefits/

[CHEEZY17]

Weird. The New York Times of all places paints a different picture:

"It’s the last day to file your taxes (or ask for an extension), and the end of one of the most confusing tax-seasons in a long while.

While tax cuts are arguably one of the Trump administration’s biggest achievements to date, and businesses have been celebrating the profit windfall they received from a lowering of corporate rates, many Americans seem not to have noticed that individual taxes also fell.

Chalk that up to an early drop in the size of tax refunds for some, and the fact that, divided over a year’s worth of paychecks, the tax benefit may not have seemed consequential.

Now that the effects of the tax act are becoming clearer, here are some early conclusions about its impact on people and businesses:

Individuals Owed Less, but Did They Notice?
In the first few weeks of the tax season, the average refund processed by the Internal Revenue Service was significantly less than in the previous year — by as much as 17 percent.

That gap has since closed, however, and many who saw smaller refunds may have received the benefit of the tax cut throughout the year, in the form of bigger paychecks.

About 65 percent of taxpayers received a cut in their overall liability, according to estimates by the Tax Policy Center, and only about six percent paid more".

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/15/busi ... mpact.html

[FSchmertz]

Weird. The New York Times of all places paints a different picture:

"It’s the last day to file your taxes (or ask for an extension), and the end of one of the most confusing tax-seasons in a long while.

While tax cuts are arguably one of the Trump administration’s biggest achievements to date, and businesses have been celebrating the profit windfall they received from a lowering of corporate rates, many Americans seem not to have noticed that individual taxes also fell.

Chalk that up to an early drop in the size of tax refunds for some, and the fact that, divided over a year’s worth of paychecks, the tax benefit may not have seemed consequential.

Now that the effects of the tax act are becoming clearer, here are some early conclusions about its impact on people and businesses:

Individuals Owed Less, but Did They Notice?
In the first few weeks of the tax season, the average refund processed by the Internal Revenue Service was significantly less than in the previous year — by as much as 17 percent.

That gap has since closed, however, and many who saw smaller refunds may have received the benefit of the tax cut throughout the year, in the form of bigger paychecks.

About 65 percent of taxpayers received a cut in their overall liability, according to estimates by the Tax Policy Center, and only about six percent paid more".

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/15/busi ... mpact.html

The problem is they changed the withholding, and didn't make a big effort to tell taxpayers that they also "might" want to adjust their withholding after they passed this "thing." Some argue they did this on purpose to make paychecks look artificially bigger.

Some people, like me, were under-withheld and ended up owing during tax time.

P.S. Now I understand they're finally going to issue new W-4 forms to adjust withholding, and I'm reading that may be a nightmare. So much for filing taxes "on a postcard."

https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/20 ... 401811002/

[FSchmertz]

Bottom line: middle class workers kept more of their money than before the tax cuts

Sorry, libs

Bingo. And people complaining they got less back on their returns are morons.

And charged it to our grandkid's credit cards, making them indistinguishable from Democrats really.

Just spending money we don't have on different stuff.

[B-Tender]

I can tell you things were different in CA. The $10K limit on state and local taxes affected a lot of home owners and two income families. Also, workers in trades such as construction, law enforcement, and mechanical repair were negatively affected by not being able to claim work expenses.

The bottom line, some were better off this year, and some weren't.

[CHEEZY17]

I can tell you things were different in CA. The $10K limit on state and local taxes affected a lot of home owners and two income families. Also, workers in trades such as construction, law enforcement, and mechanical repair were negatively affected by not being able to claim work expenses.

The bottom line, some were better off this year, and some weren't.

If I recall correctly, it was known ahead of time that high tax states like California, New York etc. wouldn't fare as well.

[B-Tender]

I can tell you things were different in CA. The $10K limit on state and local taxes affected a lot of home owners and two income families. Also, workers in trades such as construction, law enforcement, and mechanical repair were negatively affected by not being able to claim work expenses.

The bottom line, some were better off this year, and some weren't.

If I recall correctly, it was known ahead of time that high tax states like California, New York etc. wouldn't fare as well.

People that prepare taxes knew, and a few people that follow these kinds of things were aware, but a lot still didn't. And even if they did, it becomes real at tax time.

[FSchmertz]

I can tell you things were different in CA. The $10K limit on state and local taxes affected a lot of home owners and two income families. Also, workers in trades such as construction, law enforcement, and mechanical repair were negatively affected by not being able to claim work expenses.

The bottom line, some were better off this year, and some weren't.

If I recall correctly, it was known ahead of time that high tax states like California, New York etc. wouldn't fare as well.

People that prepare taxes knew, and a few people that follow these kinds of things were aware, but a lot still didn't. And even if they did, it becomes real at tax time.

Payback for Chump's "buddies" in his hometown NYC.

They should return the favor and "inspect" all of his and Kushner's properties on a weekly schedule!

[CaptQuint]

Weird. The New York Times of all places paints a different picture:

"It’s the last day to file your taxes (or ask for an extension), and the end of one of the most confusing tax-seasons in a long while.

While tax cuts are arguably one of the Trump administration’s biggest achievements to date, and businesses have been celebrating the profit windfall they received from a lowering of corporate rates, many Americans seem not to have noticed that individual taxes also fell.

Chalk that up to an early drop in the size of tax refunds for some, and the fact that, divided over a year’s worth of paychecks, the tax benefit may not have seemed consequential.

Now that the effects of the tax act are becoming clearer, here are some early conclusions about its impact on people and businesses:

Individuals Owed Less, but Did They Notice?
In the first few weeks of the tax season, the average refund processed by the Internal Revenue Service was significantly less than in the previous year — by as much as 17 percent.

That gap has since closed, however, and many who saw smaller refunds may have received the benefit of the tax cut throughout the year, in the form of bigger paychecks.

About 65 percent of taxpayers received a cut in their overall liability, according to estimates by the Tax Policy Center, and only about six percent paid more".

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/15/busi ... mpact.html

The problem is they changed the withholding, and didn't make a big effort to tell taxpayers that they also "might" want to adjust their withholding after they passed this "thing." Some argue they did this on purpose to make paychecks look artificially bigger.

The Gov't was also shut down

[DandyDon]

I can tell you things were different in CA. The $10K limit on state and local taxes affected a lot of home owners and two income families. Also, workers in trades such as construction, law enforcement, and mechanical repair were negatively affected by not being able to claim work expenses.

The bottom line, some were better off this year, and some weren't.

If I recall correctly, it was known ahead of time that high tax states like California, New York etc. wouldn't fare as well.

That was a feature, not an anomaly. Trump knew he what he was doing by punishing the blue states.

[Charliesheen]

Bottom line: middle class workers kept more of their money than before the tax cuts

Sorry, libs

Bingo. And people complaining they got less back on their returns are morons.

And charged it to our grandkid's credit cards, making them indistinguishable from Democrats really.

Just spending money we don't have on different stuff.

Yep. Total bullshit. I was hoping Trump would be a deficit hawk.

[DandyDon]

Bottom line: middle class workers kept more of their money than before the tax cuts

Sorry, libs

Bingo. And people complaining they got less back on their returns are morons.

And charged it to our grandkid's credit cards, making them indistinguishable from Democrats really.

Just spending money we don't have on different stuff.

Yep. Total bullshit. I was hoping Trump would be a deficit hawk.

I was hoping Trump would be a normal human.

[CaptQuint]

Bottom line: middle class workers kept more of their money than before the tax cuts

Sorry, libs

Bingo. And people complaining they got less back on their returns are morons.

And charged it to our grandkid's credit cards, making them indistinguishable from Democrats really.

Just spending money we don't have on different stuff.

Yep. Total bullshit. I was hoping Trump would be a deficit hawk.

I was hoping Trump would be a normal human.

New Yorkers have known he isn't for decades

[CaptQuint]

FORMER DEFICIT HAWK MICK MULVANEY ADMITS TRUMP ADMIN IS ‘SPENDING A BUNCH OF MONEY ON STUFF WE’RE NOT SUPPOSED TO,’ AS U.S. DEBT SOARS

President Donald Trump’s interim chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, founding member of the Freedom Caucus and former deficit hawk, defended the Trump administration’s excessive spending bills and $1.5 trillion tax cut in an interview with The Atlantic Thursday.

The Trump administration, he said, is “spending a bunch of money on stuff we’re not supposed to,” and the former Tea Party congressman’s colleagues “accused me of ‘losing’” because of the excessive spending.

But, he said, “at least I’m losing at the very highest levels.”

Mulvaney made his comments in response to Freedom Caucus Chairman Mark Meadows recent accusations that the former Office of Management and Budget director was “losing” after his administration helped contribute to a record-high national debt of $22 trillion.

“It sounds like my friend Mick Mulvaney is not winning on some of the fiscal issues down at the White House,” said Meadows.

Spending hikes and tax cuts were responsible for 60 percent of this year's budget deficit. Without the Trump administration legislation, this year's budget deficit would have been the lowest since 2007, about $360 billion, instead of nearly $1 trillion, according to analysis by the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.

The Trump administration pushed for action to raise the debt ceiling this week, with Mulvaney at the helm, according to reports by The Washington Post. The U.S. government will likely spend $897 billion more than it makes in revenue this year, according to CBO projections.

Increasing the debt ceiling is necessary to pay back the debts the U.S. owes, but while in Congress, Mulvaney and the Freedom Caucus often held the debt ceiling hostage in exchange for spending-reform legislation.

Mulvaney isn’t the first Republican deficit hawk to change his fiscal philosophy after working closely with President Trump. Former House Speaker Paul Ryan opposed spending increases and debt ceiling lifts while President Barack Obama was in office, but strongly supported Trump’s large tax cuts and left Congress with a ballooning deficit.


“It’s a great irony that not just Paul Ryan but Republicans who claim they care so much about the deficit have now presided over huge increases in the budget deficit,” Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen said at the time.

In The Atlantic interview, Mulvaney also described his plans to revive morale for White House staffers. He chronicled his installation of a popcorn machine in his office and his institution of office-wide happy hours.

“When I got here, morale wasn’t what it needed to be,” he said. He commented that he was having such a good time in his role that he had gained 10 pounds. “I eat more with the president now,” he said. “He eats hamburgers all the time.”

https://www.newsweek.com/mick-mulvaney- ... rs-1407461

[Wut]

Bottom line: middle class workers kept more of their money than before the tax cuts

Sorry, libs

Bingo. And people complaining they got less back on their returns are morons.

And charged it to our grandkid's credit cards, making them indistinguishable from Democrats really.

Just spending money we don't have on different stuff.

Yep. Total bullshit. I was hoping Trump would be a deficit hawk.

His history of financial responsibility certainly raised that expectation.