This year, the average tax refund was up 11%, according to IRS data, thanks to the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which cut individual income taxes by almost $130 billion dollars.
Which makes the findings of this month’s I&I/TIPP Poll so shocking.
Yes, the poll found that the public is fairly evenly split when it comes to tax fairness. That’s hardly a surprise, given that Democrats spend every minute of every day claiming that the rich don’t pay their “fair share.”
But the poll also found that 40% of adults believe their taxes are “much” or “somewhat” higher, while just 10% said they were either “somewhat” or “much” lower.
That’s a 4-to-1 difference.
See “Most Americans Say They Face ‘Higher Taxes’ This Year, Call Tax Code ‘Unfair’: I&I/TIPP Poll” for the complete poll results.
And those findings were fairly consistent regardless of party affiliation.
This makes no sense.
As the Tax Foundation notes, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act contained seven major tax cuts — all of which took effect last year.
- Maximum child tax credit increase of $200
- Standard deduction increase of $750 for single filers and $1,500 for joint filers
- State and local tax (SALT) deduction cap increase to $40,000 for taxpayers earning under $500,000
- New $6,000 additional deduction for seniors that starts phasing out when taxpayers make more than $75,000 ($150,000 joint)
- New $10,000 auto loan interest deduction that starts phasing out when taxpayers make more than $100,000 ($200,000 joint)
- New deduction for up to $25,000 in tip income that starts phasing out when taxpayers earn more than $150,000 ($300,000 joint)
- New deduction for up to $12,500 in overtime income ($25,000 for joint filers) that starts phasing out when taxpayers earn more than $150,000 ($300,000 joint)
And, starting this year, “several additional tax changes will take effect, and withholding tables will adjust so that taxpayers receive the tax cuts through higher take-home pay going forward.”
So how is it that a plurality of Americans think their taxes were increased?
It goes without saying that the mainstream press has utterly failed to tell the truth about the OBBBA.
But our poll findings should be a red flag for President Donald Trump.
He needs to do a much better job of telling the public the truth about the tax cuts he signed into law. About how they are benefiting working-class families. About how his policies are accelerating economic growth.
Yes, we know, Trump has talked about his tax cuts. But clearly not enough. Certainly not enough to overcome the Democrats’ and the media’s chorus of lies.
Trump knows how to sell stuff. So why isn’t he and his administration out there selling his tax cuts and his economic growth message, day in and day out?
That’s the refrain voters need to be hearing, especially as the midterm elections approach.
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editor-tippinsights@technometrica.com
