Trump Tax Bill: A Massive Shift Favoring the Wealthy at the Expense of the Poor

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ICARO Media Group
Politics
31/05/2025 19h07

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In a dramatic reshaping of the tax landscape, Donald Trump's latest tax proposal, dubbed the "Big Beautiful Bill," reveals a stark redistribution of wealth that detrimentally impacts low-income Americans while providing substantial benefits for the affluent. The 1,038-page legislation, passed by the House, is expected to swell the national deficit by nearly $4 trillion. It extends and amplifies tax breaks for the richest Americans while slashing $880 billion from Medicaid, thereby denying more than 10 million citizens their health insurance and regular access to medical care.

The bill's regressive nature, as outlined by the Congressional Budget Office, decreases the take-home incomes of the lowest 10 percent of earners by four percent by decade’s end. Additionally, an analysis from Penn Wharton indicates that households earning less than $51,000 will see an immediate reduction in their after-tax income. Meanwhile, the top one percent enjoy a near-instantaneous income boost of around $70,000 in the first year, collectively netting a tax cut of $124 billion.

Despite temporary three-year tax breaks for various everyday expenses such as tips, overtime income, and auto loan interest, which together cost billions, the bill's overarching framework disproportionately uplifts the wealthy. It includes specific provisions favoring rich homeowners by significantly raising the applicability of the state and local tax (SALT) deduction. This modification predominantly benefits high-income individuals in states with hefty property taxes, like those in the Northeast and West Coast, by lifting the SALT deduction to $40,000 for couples earning up to $500,000 annually.

The bill also presents a lucrative tax credit for donations to private school vouchers, making these contributions count directly against tax liabilities rather than as deductible expenses. This shift, valued at $23 billion over ten years, is poised to enhance the financial returns for wealthy donors while undermining public education.

Moreover, the proposal makes the current high exemption threshold for the estate tax permanent, allowing wealthy couples to transfer up to $30 million to their heirs tax-free, a move that will cost $200 billion in lost revenue over a decade.

Additionally, the plan introduces stringent eligibility requirements for Medicaid and SNAP (food assistance), conditioning benefits on stringent work requirements that disproportionately impact low-income and immigrant families. The new prerequisites will strip Medicaid access from about 10.3 million individuals and reduce food assistance for 2.7 million households, with an average monthly grocery budget loss of $254.

Critics argue that such provisions not only foster inequalities but also undermine fundamental principles of justice and decency in social support, posing harsh challenges for millions of Americans while favoring the wealthiest segments of the population.

The views expressed in this article do not reflect the opinion of ICARO, or any of its affiliates.

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