The news that the tax cuts from the Trump "Big Beautiful Bill" are not all they're cracked up to be has now been revealed in a Friday WSJ piece ('The New Tax Breaks Are Smaller Than You Think', p. B2, July 18). So it's not enough the Reeps are dragging the dollar down to its lowest value (vs. other currencies) in 30 years, they're now bamboozling taxpayers with hocus-pocus tax cuts as well.
According to WSJ Tax Report columnist Laura Saunders, a number of aspects of the new law that have been touted as terrific breaks for taxpayers actually come with limits and "tricks" that "dim their luster." Let's go through some of these as Ms. Saunders highlights them in her piece:
- The claimed "terrific breaks for tip recipients" are a lot less when examined through the lens of cold accounting. Specifically, the tips deduction does not apply for all workers, it's only up to $25,000 of certain tip income - for both single and joint filers. In addition, the overtime deduction applies only to the 'half' portion of time-and-a-half pay, not the whole. Further, it's up to only $12,500 for single filers and $25,000 for joint filers per year. If you and a spouse or partner work at a Vegas casino and overtime for tips, you could end up sucking a lot of salt.
- The vaunted SALT - or deduction for state and local taxes is phased down to only $10,000 once a filer's income tops $500,000 - and it comes with a stiff marriage penalty to boot. Transl. that means a couple pays more if they file jointly than if they had filed singly.
So if that filer's state and local (e.g. property taxes) are totaling $15,000 next year they're out of luck and will actually end up paying more.
- The same holds for the new deduction of $6,000 for taxpayers age 65 and older which phases out beginning at $75,000 of income for single filers, $150,000 for married couples filing jointly (A marriage penalty kicks in for this one too.)
Why on earth provide a bigger benefit for singles and single filers than couples, despite all the blather and blarney about 'family values' from the Trumptards and the Reeps? Well, because this lot are hypocrites and cynical at heart and believe most of the country comprise low IQ simpletons. Well, in truth, any bunch - whether Catholics, Evangelicals, white women (or men), Gen Z, Hispanics who'd vote a power -hungry, lying felon into office are exactly that.
Let's back up and take that "expanded SALT deduction". While the Reepo "Megabill" expands the $10,000 itemized deduction for state and local property, income or sales taxes to $40,000 starting this year, it lapses at the end of 2029. In other words, the now eligible taxpayers will get bupkiss.
In addition, many of the phaseouts are based on modified adjusted gross income. This then raises filers' income and reduces their ability to take the break they want. Worse, the new law - hailed as so "beautiful" by Dotard - carries over the marriage penalty from the old law. That means the $40,000 deduction this year is computed per return - not per person.
That means two unmarried partners who are single filers can expect to get up to $80,000 of total SALT deductions for this year, while their married joint filer neighbors will get only $40,000. Meanwhile, taxpayers who choose "married - filing separately" get only half the current SALT deduction, or $20,000.
How about them apples? But wait, we're not done. What about the much ballyhooed new senior deduction? According to Ms. Saunders this tax break is $6,000 per person age 65 and older. It takes effect for this year but will lapse at the end of 2028. Cynical inclusion of the marriage penalty ensure the breaks garnered, i.e. by a married couple, vaporize even before then.
Ms. Saunders asks why lawmakers give with one hand and take with the other. The main reason, according to one tax expert (Eric Bronenkant of Edelman Financial Engines) is that "budget and political constraints make it hard to enact any tax law."
But my take is more basic: Cynical poltroons like Trump and the Reeps dangle just enough "goodies" (and never go into details) to get too many simpletons to vote against their own best interests. That's what happened to snooker millions and get a lawless felon tyrant back into power while ensuring millions of the most vulnerable lose protections and health care.
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by Thom Hartmann | July 19, 2025 - 5:05am | permalink
Every day, it seems, we see or hear about another way in which Trump and his lickspittles in Congress and the various federal agencies are tearing down our country, weakening our defenses, pitting Americans against each other, looting our government, and making life harder for everybody except the morbidly rich.
The question nobody seems to have an answer to is, “Why?”
— Is it that, as Craig Unger seems to suggest, that he’s been a Russian agent for decades and is setting us up to lose to the newly-forming Axis of Russia and China?
— Is it that he spent so many years burning with rage and embarrassment at not being accepted by New York high society that he’s just come to hate America?
— Could it be that America-fearing foreign powers that have poured literally billions of dollars into the Trump family are paying him to tear us apart so they’ll never again have to endure the humiliation of having their human, civil, and women’s rights records called out by a future administration?
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