There is one thing the mainstream media agrees on about the Republican tax cuts. The “GOP Plan Evolved into a Windfall for the Wealthy,” said a Washington Post headline. An Associated Press story discussed, “How GOP Tax Plans Would Reward Rich Families.” And a New York Times editorial called it, “A Tax-Cut Bill to Make Scrooge McDuck Proud.”
That narrative is everywhere, and it is false. The GOP’s tax proposals would give the largest relative cuts to the middle class, increase subsidies to low-income households, and make the tax code more progressive. Those are misguided policies, but that is what Republicans will likely deliver even with some final tweaks this week.
Let’s look at data on the Senate tax bill from the Tax Policy Center. In 2019 the middle-income quintile (or one-fifth) of U.S. households would receive an average tax cut of $840, while the top quintile would receive $5,420. At first blush, the top group seems to do better.
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