Despite Donald Trump’s campaign promises of reduced taxes for the middle class, a new nonpartisan analysis reveals the president-elect’s proposed policies could increase taxes for 8 million middle class families and cost $6 trillion over a ten-year period.
A paper released by the Tax Policy Center shows that Trump’s plan, which promises to eliminate personal exemptions and the head-of-household filing status, would raise taxes for most families with three or more children and disproportionately affect single working parents. The paper also shows that, while the middle class would see an overall tax reduction of two percent, that number pales in comparison to the 15% tax reduction the wealthiest one percent of the population would receive under Trump’s plan.
The Tax Policy Center report gives detailed examples of how families would be affected by Trump’s plan. For example, without the household deduction, a single parent with an income of $75,000 and two children would have to pay $2,440 more in taxes annually. Meanwhile, those who earn over $700,000 would enjoy a tax cut averaging nearly $215,000 each year.
The Associated Pressspoke with one Trump supporter who seemed surprised to learn that, as a single mother, her taxes would rise.
"I would want him to explain that to me," she said. "Taxes have to make sense to the people paying them."
Though many of Trump’s plans are expected to be altered as they are implemented, his tax plans have a high likelihood of being seen through. Tax cuts have been a part of the Republican platform for decades, and Trump’s promise that tax cuts, including cuts for corporations, will help create jobs for Americans mimics President Reagan’s failed trickle-down economics. (Hillary Clinton pointed this in a debate with Trump where she called his ideas “Trumped-up trickle down.") Plus, Trump’s tax plan is very similar to the proposed tax plan of House Speaker Paul Ryan, says the AP, though Ryan’s plan wouldn’t affect single parents as disproportionately.
However his plan is finalized, though, with a majority Republican Congress, Trump will likely face little opposition pushing this kind of legislation through.
