Top 5% of taxpayers would get nearly half the benefit if Trump tax cuts are extended

The highest-income households would receive more than 45% of the benefits if the expiring provisions of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act are extended, according to an analysis released Monday by the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center.

The highest-income households would receive more than 45% of the benefits if the expiring provisions of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act are extended, according to an analysis released Monday by the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center. The tax cut law was a key accomplishment of former President Donald Trump’s first term, but the individual and certain business tax provisions are set to expire at the end of next year. Trump has promised to extend them if he is returned to the White House in November’s election. If the law’s provisions are made permanent, households making at least around $450,000 – roughly the top 5% – would be the biggest winners, the analysis found. They would see their after-tax income increase by 3.2%. For those in the top 1%, who make at least $1 million, that equates to a tax cut of about $70,000, on average, in 2027. The top 0.1%, who make at least $5 million, would pocket a tax cut of nearly $280,000, on average, or about 3% of their after-tax income. Middle-income households earning between roughly $65,000 and $116,000, on the other hand, would receive a tax cut of about $1,000, or 1.3% of their income. Overall, extending the 2017 tax law would reduce taxes for about three-quarters of households, but hike them for about 10%, according to the analysis.