Americans are getting $6 billion less in tax refunds thanks to the GOP

Americans received $6 billion less in tax refunds through the end of March compared to the same time period last year, according to IRS data released on Monday. The massive drop coincides with the first year the GOP tax scam was in effect.

In addition to Americans seeing an overall drop in total refunds, significantly fewer Americans are getting a refund at all. In fact, about 1.6 million fewer people are getting a refund, and those that are getting a refund have seen the amount decrease compared to last year.

The GOP tax scam, signed into law in late 2017, was a massive giveaway to wealthy corporations and Wall Street banks. Companies like Amazon, Netflix, GE, and U.S. Steel made massive profits in 2018 and are still getting hundreds of millions of dollars in refunds. One Wall Street bank, JP Morgan, added almost $4 billion in profits solely based on provisions in the tax scam.

While Republicans took care of big businesses, American families have been left out in the cold. The bill was written so that more than 80 percent of the benefits would eventually go to the richest 1 percent of Americans. No wonder a new poll shows only 17 percent of Americans think their taxes will go down.

Republicans structured the tax scam to increase take-home pay throughout 2018, but the amount was so small that many people did not even notice. Even former Speaker Paul Ryan boasted about a woman receiving only $1.50 per week more thanks to the tax scam.

Families are busy and many “don’t necessarily notice a difference in the net pay. Especially if it’s spread out over 26 pay periods,” Steven Zelin, a New York accountant, told CBS News.

Wall Street banks are celebrating billions in kickbacks from Republicans while families are seeing their refunds shrink or go away entirely.

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.