Top 1% would reap majority of Trump’s tax cuts, report finds

Impact

The top 1% of earners in America would receive a majority of cuts proposed in President Donald Trump’s tax reform plan, while almost a third of middle-class earners would see a tax increase, according to a new analysis released Friday by the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center.

The study found that the top 1% — which includes people with incomes of $730,000 and above — would receive half the total cuts proposed in the plan. That means the top 1% would see their after-tax incomes rise by an average of 8.5%, thanks to average tax cuts of $129,030, according to the analysis.

The bottom 20% of earners, on the other hand, would only see an increase in after-tax income of 0.5%. That amounts to roughly $60.

The study also found that in 10 years, taxes would rise for a quarter of all taxpayers, including almost 30% of people who earn between $50,000 and $150,000 annually.

The study contradicts the Trump administration’s claim that the plan was written to benefit the middle class the most.

“Look, I told you it will benefit the middle class,” White House economic adviser Gary Cohn said Thursday, after reporters repeatedly questioned him on whether the plan would benefit the richest Americans, like Trump and his family. “American taxpayers care about what they take home, they care about what they have to spend. That’s what they care about.”