WASHINGTON (AP) — The Republican tax bill approved by the U.S. House would cost the poorest Americans about $1,600 a year, while the wealthiest households increased their income on average $12,000 a year, according to a new analysis released by the Congressional Budget Office on Thursday.
The President of the General Administration found that under Republican President Donald Trump's tax bill, middle-income households will increase by about $500 to $1,000 a year.
Cuts for minimum income households come from proposed cuts to the Social Safety Net program, including Medicaid and food assistance programs for low-income people, called Supplementary Nutrition and Assistance Programs.
The bill also proposes to expand work requirements to access food aid and new “community engagement requirements”, at least 80 hours a month of work, education or services, to provide sound adults with no family members receiving Medicaid. Some of the proposed tax breaks will be temporary, including tips and overtime, tax breaks on interest on car loans, and a standard deduction for older people.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and other Republicans tried to discredit the CBO's analysis of the bill and said that if the measure was not passed, the United States could be heading towards an economic disaster. Republican Idaho Senator Mike Crapo said in a Senate Finance Committee hearing Thursday that the tax bill “recognizes that the solution to our debt crisis is not to tax Americans, but to spend less money.”
“The legislation recognizes that extending good tax reform is crucial for working families,” he said.
Government officials said the tax bills will be offset by tariff revenue. Recently, CBOs respectively estimated that Trump's comprehensive tariff plan would reduce $2.8 trillion over a decade while shrinking the economy, increasing inflation and reducing overall household purchasing power.
The CBO was founded over 50 years ago to provide objective and impartial analysis to support the budget process. Cost estimates are required for nearly every bill approved by the House or Senate committee and are carried out in advance when members request that they do so.
The office released Thursday an analysis has isolated Trump’s “a large bill bill” that excludes the potential impact of Trump imposed and suspended tariffs on countries around the world.
“This will be one of the biggest wealth transfers in U.S. history from working families to super-rich wealth,” Rep. Brendan Boyle, a Democrat in Pennsylvania, released a CBO analysis Thursday, saying in a statement.
