See also: GOP Tax Cuts Help Small Businesses Nationwide
Tax refunds increased by 17 percent last week and are now at the same level as last year, according to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.
The left and the media have spent the past few weeks arguing that the reduction in tax refunds in the first few weeks of tax filing season meant that families are seeing a tax increase.
This is misleading and wrong. Even if an individual has a lower refund, this is not cause for a concern. A lower refund simply means that the government has been holding less of your money interest-free over the past year.
In net, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act is a tax cut for the majority of Americans, including middle class families:
- 90 percent of wage earners have seen more money in their paychecks.
- Taxpayers earning between $20,000 and $50,000 are seeing net federal tax cuts of 10 percent or higher according to the Joint Committee on Taxation.
- 91 percent of taxpayers with annual income between $64,000 and $108,000 are seeing a 2018 federal tax cut averaging $1,400 according to the left of center Institute for Taxation and Economic Policy.
- A family of four with annual income of $73,000 is seeing a 60 percent reduction in federal taxes totaling more than $2,058.
- According to the Heritage Foundation, the typical American family will be almost $45,000 better off over the next decade because of higher take-home pay and a stronger economy.