• Trump's big tax bill has passed the House. Here's what's inside it

    From Biased Journalism@21:1/5 to All on Thu May 22 12:42:43 2025
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    http://apnews.com
    Trump's big tax bill has passed the House. Here's what's inside it | AP
    News
    Kevin Freking, Lisa Mascaro

    WASHINGTON (AP) - House Republicans early Thursday took a major step
    forward on President Donald Trump's agenda, approving a legislative
    package that combines tax breaks, spending cuts, border security funding
    and other priorities.

    House committees labored for months on the bill, which underwent late
    changes to win over holdouts in the Republican conference. It exceeds
    1,000 pages and is titled the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act," a nod to Trump himself.

    Republicans made one last round of revisions before the bill reached the
    House floor, boosting the state and local tax deduction to win over
    centrists and speeding up the work requirements in Medicaid to win over
    those who didn't believe the bill did enough to curb spending.

    Here's a look at what's in the legislative package, which is expected to undergo more changes when it goes to the Senate.
    President Donald Trump gestures during a business roundtable, Thursday,
    May 15, 2025, in Doha, Qatar. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

    President Donald Trump gestures during a business roundtable, Thursday,
    May 15, 2025, in Doha, Qatar. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
    Tax cuts for individuals and businesses

    Republicans look to make permanent the individual income and estate tax
    cuts passed in Trump's first term, in 2017, plus enact promises he made on
    the 2024 campaign trail to not tax tips, overtime and interest on some
    auto loans.

    To partially offset the lost revenue, Republicans propose repealing or
    phasing out more quickly the clean energy tax credits passed during Joe
    Biden's presidency, helping to bring down the overall cost of the tax
    portion to about $3.8 trillion.

    The bill includes a temporary boost in the standard deduction - a $1,000 increase for individuals, bringing it to $16,000 for individual filers,
    and a $2,000 boost for joint filers, bringing it to $32,000. The deduction reduces the amount of income that is actually subject to income tax.

    There is also a temporary $500 increase in the child tax credit, bringing
    it to $2,500 for 2025 through 2028. It then returns to $2,000 and will
    increase to account for inflation.

    The estate tax exemption rises to $15 million and is adjusted for
    inflation going forward.

    One of the thorniest issues in negotiations had been how much to raise the state and local tax deduction, now capped at $10,000. That's been a
    priority of New York lawmakers. The bill increases the "SALT" cap to
    $40,000 for incomes up to $500,000, with the cap phasing downward for
    those with higher incomes. Also, the cap and income threshold will
    increase 1% annually over 10 years.

    Several of the provisions Trump promised in the campaign would be
    temporary, lasting roughly through his term in office. The tax breaks for
    tips, overtime and car loan interest expire at the end of 2028. That's
    also the case for a $4,000 increase in the standard deduction for seniors.

    Among the various business tax provisions, small businesses, including partnerships and S corporations, will be able to subtract 23% of their qualified business income from their taxes. The deduction has been 20%

    House Republicans would reduce spending on food aid, what is known as the Supplemental Nutrition and Assistance Program, by about $267 billion over
    10 years.

    States would shoulder 5% of benefit costs, beginning in fiscal 2028, and
    75% of the administrative costs. Currently, states pay none of the benefit
    and half of the administration costs.

    Republicans also are expanding the work requirements to receive food aid.
    Under current law, able-bodied adults without dependents must fulfill work requirements until they are 54, and that would change under the bill to
    age 64.

    Also, some parents are currently exempt from work requirements until their children are 18; that would change so only those caring for a dependent
    child under the age of 7 are exempt.
    And new work requirements for Medicaid

    A focal point of the package is nearly $700 billion in reduced spending in
    the Medicaid program, according to CBO.

    To be eligible for Medicaid, there would be new "community engagement requirements" of at least 80 hours per month of work, education or service
    for able-bodied adults without dependents. The new requirements would
    begin on Dec. 31, 2026. People would also have to verify their eligibility
    for the program twice a year, rather than just once.

    Republicans are looking to generate savings with new work requirements.
    But Democrats warn that millions of Americans will lose coverage.

    A preliminary estimate from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office
    said the proposals would reduce the number of people with health care by
    8.6 million over the decade.
    No taxes on gun silencers, no money for Planned Parenthood and more

    Republicans are also using the package to reward allies and disadvantage political foes.

    The package would eliminate a $200 tax on gun silencers that has existed
    since Congress passed the National Firearms Act in 1934. The elimination
    of the tax is supported by the NRA.

    The group Giffords, which works to reduce gun violence, said silencers
    make it more difficult to recognize the sound of gunfire and locate the
    source of gunshots, impairing the ability of law enforcement to respond to active shooters.

    Republicans are also looking to prohibit Medicaid funds from going to
    Planned Parenthood, which provides abortion care. Democrats say defunding
    the organization would make it harder for millions of patients to get
    cancer screenings, pap tests and birth control.
    ‘Trump' kids $1,000 savings accounts

    The bill originally called for "MAGA" accounts, shorthand for Trump's
    signature line, "Make America Great Again." But in a last-minute revision,
    the bill changed the name to "Trump" accounts.

    For parents or guardians who open new "Trump" accounts for their children,
    the federal government will contribute $1,000 for babies born between Jan.
    1, 2024 and Dec. 31, 2028.

    Families could add $5,000 a year, with the account holders unable to take distributions before age 18. Then, they could access up to 50% of the
    money to pay for higher education, training and first-time home purchases.
    At age 30, account holders have access to the full balance of the account
    for any purpose.
    Funding for Trump's mass deportation operation

    The legislation would provide $46.5 billion to revive construction of
    Trump's wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, and more money for the
    deportation agenda.

    There's $4 billion to hire an additional 3,000 new Border Patrol agents as
    well as 5,000 new customs officers, and $2.1 billion for signing and
    retention bonuses. There's also funds for 10,000 more Immigration and
    Customs Enforcement officers and investigators.

    It includes major changes to immigration policy, imposing a $1,000 fee on migrants seeking asylum - something the nation has never done, putting it
    on par with few others, including Australia and Iran.

    Overall, the plan is to remove 1 million immigrants annually and house
    100,000 people in detention centers.
    More money for the Pentagon and Trump's ‘Golden Dome'

    There's also nearly with $150 billion in new money for the Defense
    Department and national security.

    It would provide $25 billion for Trump's "Golden Dome for America," a long-envisioned missile defense shield, $21 billion to restock the
    nation's ammunition arsenal, $34 billion to expand the naval fleet with
    more shipbuilding and some $5 billion for border security.

    It also includes $9 billion for service member quality of life-related
    issues, including housing, health care and special pay.
    Tax on university endowments and overhaul of student loans

    A wholesale revamping of the student loan program is key to the
    legislation, providing $330 billion in budget cuts and savings.

    The proposal would replace all existing student loan repayment plans with
    just two: a standard option with monthly payments spread out over 10 to 25 years and a "repayment assistance" plan that is generally less generous
    than those it would replace.

    Among other changes, the bill would repeal Biden-era regulations that made
    it easier for borrowers to get loans canceled if their colleges defrauded
    them or closed suddenly.

    There would be a tax increase, up to 21%, on some university endowments.
    More drilling, mining on public lands

    To generate revenue, one section would allow increased leasing of public
    lands for drilling, mining and logging while clearing the path for more development by speeding up government approvals.

    Royalty rates paid by companies to extract oil, gas and coal would be cut, reversing Biden's attempts to curb fossil fuels to help address climate
    change.

    ___

    Associated Press writers Collin Binkley and Mary Clare Jalonick in
    Washington and Matthew Brown in Billings, Montana, contributed to this
    report.
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