House Republicans will not lower taxes for the most affluent Americans, people familiar with House Speaker Paul Ryan's (R-Wis.) plans told The Wall Street Journal. While the GOP had initially proposed a decrease to 33 percent for the highest earners, down from the current 39.6 percent, Republicans are now poised not to change the rate at all, or change it only by a very small amount. "The overall bill, it is a winner, and that's why I'm excited," said House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) ahead of the legislation's release, which has been postponed from Wednesday to Thursday.
The exact income brackets are not yet clear, although The Wall Street Journal calls it "likely" that the 39.6 percent tax rate will apply to a higher threshold than today's $480,050, meaning fewer wealthy Americans will actually pay at that level. Additionally, Democrats are expected to take issue with many benefits that remain for the wealthy, including the higher cutoff, a delayed, phased-in repeal of the estate tax, and other proposals the richest Americans can use to pay less than their 39.6 percent rate.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Pakistan's solar panel boomUnder The Radar A 'perfect storm' has created a solar 'revolution' in the south Asian country
-
Book reviews: 'America, América: A New History of the New World' and 'Sister, Sinner: The Miraculous Life and Mysterious Disappearance of Aimee Semple McPherson'Feature A historian tells a new story of the Americas and the forgotten story of a pioneering preacher
-
Another messaging app used by the White House is in hot waterThe Explainer TeleMessage was seen being used by former National Security Adviser Mike Waltz
-
Warren Buffet announces surprise retirementspeed read At the annual meeting of Berkshire Hathaway, the billionaire investor named Vice Chairman Greg Abel his replacement
-
Trump calls Amazon's Bezos over tariff displaySpeed Read The president was not happy with reports that Amazon would list the added cost from tariffs alongside product prices
-
Markets notch worst quarter in years as new tariffs loomSpeed Read The S&P 500 is on track for its worst month since 2022 as investors brace for Trump's tariffs
-
Tesla Cybertrucks recalled over dislodging panelsSpeed Read Almost every Cybertruck in the US has been recalled over a stainless steel panel that could fall off
-
Crafting emporium Joann is going out of businessSpeed Read The 82-year-old fabric and crafts store will be closing all 800 of its stores
-
Trump's China tariffs start after Canada, Mexico pausesSpeed Read The president paused his tariffs on America's closest neighbors after speaking to their leaders, but his import tax on Chinese goods has taken effect
-
Chinese AI chatbot's rise slams US tech stocksSpeed Read The sudden popularity of a new AI chatbot from Chinese startup DeepSeek has sent U.S. tech stocks tumbling
-
US port strike averted with tentative labor dealSpeed Read The strike could have shut down major ports from Texas to Maine
