It certain seems to be like that is the plan in keeping with Individuals for Tax Equity. If one of many expiring provisions–decrease particular person tax charges – have been as a substitute prolonged, Trump may have an additional and ~ $2.7 million in his pocket over 10 years. And that may be a modest estimate by the Tax Equity Group. An extension of the 2017 tax break by Trump will profit the higher 1% of earnings residents higher than the underside 90% of taxpayers. Perhaps the following 10% additionally. My level being the tax break is closely skewed to the higher 1% and rich by design.
Trump & Musk Households May Save Billions from Republican Tax Plans, Individuals for Tax Equity.
- The households of President Trump and his high adviser, Elon Musk, may save billions of {dollars} in taxes from Republican tax plans. These plans would price the American individuals trillions of {dollars} in misplaced public income, threatening funding of public providers important to working households like healthcare, training and housing, whereas widening financial inequality and driving up public debt.
- Among the many high Republican legislative priorities is extending the expiring elements of the 2017 Trump-GOP tax legislation. Primarily based on what we find out about Trump’s earnings from previous tax returns which have been made public, if simply a type of expiring provisions–decrease particular person tax charges–have been as a substitute prolonged, Trump may save at the least $2.7 million over 10 years. Primarily based on public details about Musk’s earnings and tax historical past, he may keep away from as much as $50 million in taxes over a decade simply from the decrease charges.
Since every man’s wealth is much above the quantity exempted from the property tax, their households would save $5.6 million if the Trump legislation’s weakened type of the tax is prolonged as a substitute of being allowed to return to a extra strong state on schedule. However Republicans don’t simply wish to hobble the property tax–they wish to eradicate it solely. In the event that they succeed, the Trump household may keep away from about $2 billion in tax, and the Musk clan may keep away from $128 billion (based mostly on latest estimates of every man’s web price.)
Extension of the Expiring Components of the 2017 Trump-GOP Tax Legislation: Lowered Charges
The final time Donald Trump was president and Republicans managed Congress, they enacted a tax legislation that closely favored the rich and added $2 trillion to the nationwide debt. Most of that legislation is scheduled to run out on the finish of this 12 months.
One of many legislation’s elements that’s set to go away is a set of decrease tax charges on “ordinary income” (this class excludes long-term capital positive aspects and certified dividends, that are taxed below a unique fee system). For prime-income individuals, essentially the most profitable minimize was of the highest tax fee from 39.6% to 37%. In 2025, that high fee is just paid on the portion of a pair’s extraordinary earnings that exceeds roughly three-quarters of 1,000,000 {dollars}.
In accordance with 2013 and 2018 information from ProPublica, Elon Musk loved a median annual taxable earnings of roughly $179 million. All however one % of which was extraordinary. Assuming he had the identical common taxable earnings in every of the primary 10 years of an extension of the Trump legislation’s decrease tax charges (and this can be a conservative assumption, since he’s many instances richer now), Musk may save a complete of round $50 million in earnings taxes.
Primarily based on his tax returns that have been lastly disclosed to the general public after a lengthy authorized battle, between 2015 and 2020 Trump obtained on common roughly $10 million a 12 months in wages, taxable curiosity, extraordinary dividends, and taxable pensions and annuities. These have been his “predictable” sources of extraordinary earnings (he additionally had enterprise earnings in some years, however in others he had enterprise losses). Simply contemplating these 4 sources of extraordinary earnings, over the primary 10 years of an extension of his decrease tax charges Trump may save a complete of as much as roughly $2.7 million in earnings taxes.
Extension of the Expiring Components of Trump Tax Legislation: Weakened Property Tax
One other a part of the legislation that’s scheduled to run out in 2026 is the quantity of fortune that rich households can protect from the property tax. The property tax is the one federal curb on financial dynasties and, regardless of ceaseless propaganda on the contrary, poses no risk to household companies (p. 11) or farms.
In 2025, a pair can move down $28 million with out paying any property tax (the quantity rises every year with inflation). That quantity is scheduled to be minimize roughly in half, or to round $14 million, in 2026. The worth of an property above the exemption quantity is taxed at 40%. So if the extra beneficiant exemption quantity is retained as a substitute of being allowed to run out, the Musk and Trump households may every save as much as about $5.6 million in property taxes (40% of the extra $14 million exemption).
Eliminating the Property Tax
Conservative politicians have systematically weakened the property tax over latest years, with their final aim being its full elimination. Forty-five GOP senators, led by the chamber’s majority chief and its chairman of the Finance Committee, early on on this session of Congress launched a invoice to abolish the tax.
Abolishing the property tax altogether can be an absolute bonanza for the households of Trump and Musk and for each different super-wealthy clan. In contrast to the impact of sustaining the tax’s greater exemption quantity–which saves the household of everybody price over $28 million the identical $5.6 million–how a lot a household would save from elimination of the tax grows with the household’s wealth.
If his household was relieved of the responsibility to pay 40% of his fortune in property tax, based mostly on his latest web price of $330 billion, Musk’s heirs may save as much as roughly $132 billion. Equally, based mostly on a latest estimate of Trump’s web price, his household may save as much as round $2 billion. (At these wealth ranges, the estate-tax exemption reduces the quantity owed by little or no.)
An essential notice: each the Trump and Musk households have undoubtedly arrange elaborate estate-tax-avoidance schemes, as most super-wealthy households do. Since we have no idea what tax-avoidance schemes they’ve undertaken, we’ve calculated the utmost quantity that will be due if the property tax have been totally repealed. (For sure, all of the abusive methods that permit fabulously rich households to dodge intergenerations-wealth-transfer taxes ought to be repealed.)
Conclusion
Earlier than enactment of his tax legislation in 2017, President Trump typically claimed that he wouldn’t personally profit from it, nor would some other rich individuals. “This is going to cost me a fortune, this thing, believe me. This is not good for me . . . I have some very wealthy friends. Not so happy with me, but that’s OK,” he mentioned in one speech.
As with so many Trump claims, this one was solely false. Together with different members of the financial elite, Trump and Musk have been the fundamental beneficiaries of the unique tax legislation – and would be the fundamental beneficiaries of extending its expiring provisions.
Due to this fact, Trump’s demand that Congress completely prolong the expiring elements of his tax legislation–and Musk’s drastic, haphazard makes an attempt to chop public spending to assist pay for these extensions–ought to be seen for what they’re: not a pursuit of fascinating public coverage, however an try to additional line their very own pockets.
