Final Tax Analysis: Good for the Rich, Bad for the Middle Class

I know it’s totally unfair to point out what happens under the Republican tax bill in 2027 after the individual cuts expire. After all, Republicans say they don’t want them to expire, and we should all pay attention to what Republicans say rather than what they actually do. But I’m just an old dinosaur who thinks actions are more important than words. And regardless of what they may want in the secret recesses of their hearts, the bill they’re about to pass does this:

As the top chart shows, within a decade tax rates will go up for everyone making less than $55,000 and stay about the same up to $225,000. They’ll go down for everyone above that level, and they’ll go down the most for millionaires. This one is from the Tax Policy Center.

On the bottom, you can see how this affects households. Up to $75,000, households will pay several hundred dollars more each year in taxes. Those making over a million dollars per year will pay about $14,000 less. This is from the Joint Committee on Taxation.

But it doesn’t matter. These are the same numbers we’ve seen all along, and the fact that the middle class is getting screwed in service to tax cuts for the rich isn’t going to stop anyone. I sure hope Republicans pay a price for this almost unfathomable act of political cynicism.

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The crisis facing journalism and democracy isn’t going away anytime soon. And neither is Mother Jones, our readers, or our unique way of doing in-depth reporting that exists to bring about change.

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