Trump overhaul will raise taxes on almost everyone by 2027, says Congressional committee
by Alan Fram, The Associated Press
The Joint Committee on Taxation says 118 million of the 177 million total tax returns are from those who will face bigger tax bills in a decade. The tax plan is projected to boost federal deficits by nearly $1.5 trillion over 10 years
WASHINGTON—The Republican tax bill would mean average initial tax cuts for Americans across all income lines, but by 2027, it would boost average levies for everyone earning up to $75,000, which includes most taxpayers, Congress’ nonpartisan tax analyst estimated Monday.
The projection seemed unlikely to have any impact on the fate of the legislation, which was expected to win House approval Tuesday. Senate passage was likely by Wednesday as the GOP races to send President Donald Trump his first major legislative victory before Christmas.
The Joint Committee on Taxation calculated that in 2019, people earning $20,000 to $50,000 would see tax cuts averaging 10 per cent or more. Those making $200,000 to $1 million would see reductions averaging slightly less.
But by 2023, people making under $30,000 would see tax increases while those earning more would see their tax cuts get smaller.
That pattern would continue. In 2027, a year after most individual tax provisions expire, people making up to $75,000 would be paying more on average than under current law. The committee says around 118 million of the 177 million tax returns are from households making up to $75,000.
Republicans ended the individual tax cuts in 2026 to conform to Senate rules that require the measure to limit the federal debt increases it would cause. The bill is projected to boost federal shortfalls by nearly $1.5 trillion over the coming decade.
GOP lawmakers say they’d expect a future Congress to continue the tax cuts so they won’t expire. If achieved, that would drive up deficits even further.
A separate study by the Tax Policy Center, a private nonpartisan group, found that individual taxes would be reduced on average next year by $1,600.
But that ranged on average from $60 for people earning below $25,000 to $7,640 for those making above $149,000. Those in the top 1 per cent, earning over $733,000, would see average tax cuts of $51,140.
In 2027, 53 per cent of families would face tax increases averaging $180. Those tax boosts on average would grow with income, the policy centre said.
One in four taxpayers that year would have tax reductions averaging $1,540, with larger cuts for higher-earning people.
Most of the bill’s benefits go to businesses and the wealthy, which Republicans say would goose the economy and benefit all. Democrats reject that assertion and are expected to oppose the bill unanimously.
On Monday, moderate Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said she’d support the bill, meaning all voting Republicans are expected to back it, enough for passage. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., is at home battling brain cancer and is expected to miss the vote. The GOP controls the Senate 52-48.
