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(Bloomberg) -- Getting a tax refund is a springtime tradition that Americans love as much as Easter candy. But fewer people are getting refunds this year and that’s causing angst for Republicans who want to convince voters that the 2017 tax overhaul really did give them a tax cut. If middle America can’t be persuaded, it could have big implications for the long-term viability of the overhaul, and how consumers spend their extra income.
Republicans are on the defensive. The once little-noticed ritual of releasing weekly refund data during the tax filing season has become politically fraught, with unfavorable data being released late on a Friday night, and better figures a week later causing Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to take to cable news to tout success.
“Taxes are down so refunds should be down,” Mnuchin told the House Ways and Means Committee on Thursday. Mnuchin added that many people did not change their withholding and so refunds are consistent with last year.
Democrats see an opportunity to use the drop in refunds to hammer Republicans in the 2020 campaign for seeming to favor the wealthy and denying middle- and lower-income people the refunds they count on.
Read more at: Shrinking Tax Refunds Cast A Shadow On Trump’s Signature Law
Copyright © BloombergQuint
Ok, couple of things here...
1st. - I don't see from my personal experience (a $2000 shift) in my tax exposure this year over last, where Mnuchin can claim that it is consistent with last year..
2nd. - I don't blame this totally on Trump's policy, although I do think that by seperating the vision into two separate paths of attack, first being to lower Corporate, and business taxes spurring economic growth, and that part of it worked wonderfully. However, there was supposed to be a second path of then lowering the rates for the individuals, middle, and lower incomes so that they didn't get pinched by getting the $20 - $40 per week that showed up in their pay in 2018.
This was a result of not only those in the Republican resistance ranks teaming up with Democrats refusing to give Trump any victory, but denying those in the lower, and middle income brackets relief in their tax exposure...It was a cynical move politically motivated to ensure that Democrats could use this years shock in their taxes in 2020, and shame on those Republican's that are putting status quo over what is good for the people....
thoughts?