Who Benefits from Trump's Tax Bill?

Who Benefits From Trump's Tax Bill?

This spring will mark the first time that people will be filing their taxes under Trump's Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA). His act which is set to last until 2025 is supposedly to create more jobs as corporations have had their rates cut from 35% to 21%. White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee stated that "more than 70 percent of this [tax cut] will be returned to workers". However, that is up for debate.

Major Corporations such as Apple and Cisco have bought back $100 billion and $25 billion in their own stocks respectively. Bank of America bought back $20 billion in stocks and proceeded to give a one time bonus of $1000 to its employees but also had 5000 job cuts. Wells Fargo did something similar where they bought back $40 billion in stocks and raised their company minimum wage to $15 an hour. However, they also cut 26,450 jobs. For the most part many companies have participated in stock buybacks and some have gone on to use their savings to create jobs and raise wages. Yet only 7% of all the money saved has gone to increase wages, give bonuses, and towards other investments. Meanwhile, there has been a total of $436.6 billion in stock buybacks during the second quarter alone which could instead have been used for a $1000 bonus for 6.8 million workers.

In terms of individuals, the effects have yet to be seen as Americans will be filing their taxes throughout March and April. With Trump's new bill, there no longer is a penalty for those who were unable to pay healthcare which saves those individuals $695. Graduate student tuition is not considered income and student loan interest actually remains deductible. Tax brackets have been lowered with the top rate going from 37%-35% and standard deductions have been increased across the board. The child tax credit has also increased and there are new standards for qualification. Both the credit and joint income has doubled as $2000 (previously $1000) can now be claimed and now joint-filers who make less than $400,000 qualify (previously $200,000). Overall, it remains to be seen as to exactly how much people benefit and specifically who even does. Clearly corporate rates have dropped significantly and the money has gone mostly to stock buybacks but there are also individuals who will benefit this spring.