President Trump will save up to $15 million a year because of the newly passed GOP tax cuts, while six members of his inner circle stand to benefit significantly as well.
On Wednesday, Congress approved the $1.5 trillion measure, which cuts taxes for most Americans temporarily and slashes the corporate tax rate permanently from 35 percent to 21 percent. It also repeals the Obamacare individual mandate, which is forecast to cause 13 million people to lose health insurance over the next decade.
A new analysis by the left-leaning Center for American Progress (CAP) found that Trump will save $11 million to $15 million annually from tax cuts, and the doubling of the estate-tax exemption could save his heirs up to $4.5 million. Although Republicans have sought to sell the bill as targeted toward the middle class, the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center found that the average middle-class household will save $900 in 2018, while the wealthiest 1 percent of Americans will get $51,000.
Most of Trump’s savings are due to a sharp tax cut for “pass-through” businesses, whose top tax rate will fall from 39.6 percent to 29.6 percent. A last-minute change in the code to benefit real estate companies will particularly advantage Trump. CAP estimated Trump’s savings from $150 million in income he listed on financial disclosure forms and the $109 million in income from real estate and pass-through businesses on his 2005 tax return.
Presidential son-in-law and senior White House adviser Jared Kushner will save $5 million to $12 million annually, while Education Secretary Betsy DeVos will save $2.7 million. Additionally, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, Small Business Administration chief Linda McMahon, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson stand to save $4.5 million each from the estate-tax revamp.
“I think that the American people, whether they receive a tax increase or tax cut from this bill, are outraged that President Trump, his cabinet, and members of Congress stand to receive big payouts from this tax bill,” said Seth Hanlon, a senior fellow at CAP. “The extent of the self-dealing became especially apparent when a last-minute provision benefitting the real estate industry was inserted.”
