Trump and the GOP's tax cuts benefited wealthy executives and shareholders more than anyone else for reasons we've poured over many times before, but that does mean things cannot look even more tilted in their favor upon further examination.
Exactly how many people and the ways they've benefited from specific tax cuts would ordinarily be unknowable to some extent, but ProPublica received records from the IRS that show just how concentrated the benefits of Trump's tax cuts have been.
The tax cut for pass-through income targeting business owners resulted in a $1 billion windfall for a relatively small group of people. And that was just the beginning.
In the first year after Trump signed the legislation, just 82 ultrawealthy households collectively walked away with more than $1 billion in total savings, an analysis of confidential tax records shows. Republican and Democratic tycoons alike saw their tax bills chopped by tens of millions, among them: media magnate and former Democratic presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg; the Bechtel family, owners of the engineering firm that bears their name; and the heirs of the late Houston pipeline billionaire Dan Duncan.
Do you remember when former House Speaker Paul Ryan tried to support the tax cuts by pointing toward a teacher who saw her pay increase by $1.50 per week? I hope she bought a small coffee at McDonalds or something.
Stories like this one from ProPublica provide plenty of fuel to congressional Democrats writing the $3.5 trillion reconciliation bill. There's nothing controversial at all with saying it's not fair; with saying we need to eliminate or reduce provisions included in the Trump tax cuts.
We're not going to hear much kicking and screaming about raising taxes on the super-rich because the fact is it's a winning issue.