Opinion: Extending Trump-era tax giveaways will cost trillions and leave Wisconsin families behind. Instead, Congress should prioritize working families. 

In this op-ed, Wisconsin resident Maura Jonas discusses the ramifications of Trump’s proposed tax giveaway that will cost trillions. 

Since former President Donald Trump’s signature tax law was passed in 2017, big corporations and the wealthiest Americans have benefited from massive giveaways that have increased our deficit, helped the rich get even richer, and shouldered working families with more of the burden. Now, as some of these disastrous policies are set to expire, Republicans are fighting to extend them permanently. It’s wrong and we can’t afford it. 

Many of the most onerous provisions of Trump’s tax giveaway – laughingly called the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act – are set to expire in 2025. For years, the ultra-wealthy and corporations have taken advantage of these to avoid paying their fair share in taxes – including taking advantage of a new pass-through business tax deduction which has disproportionately benefited the wealthy owners of large, successful businesses, including oil and gas companies. 

But Republicans in Congress are fighting to not only extend many of these provisions, they want to make some of them permanent. That includes Wisconsin Congressman Bryan Steil and Derrick Van Orden, who have both co-sponsored legislation that aims to keep tax giveaways in place. One bill co-sponsored by Steil is so egregious that it would give a $44 billion tax cut to the richest 1 percent of Americans in 2026 alone.

You don’t have to be an economist to realize that extending this law beyond 2025 isn’t going to be cheap, but the actual price tag is shocking and quickly increasing. 

According to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, extending portions of the Trump tax law through 2034 would cost taxpayers $4 trillion – an increase of nearly 50 percent from previous estimates. These projections take into account inflation and other variables to provide a more accurate picture of just how costly and unaffordable these extensions would be. Four trillion dollars, to extend tax provisions that primarily benefit the ultra-rich and big corporations isn’t something any member of Congress should be able to justify.

The push to extend these provisions comes at a time when many working families are still dealing with rising costs, including paying more at the grocery store, struggling to find affordable child care, and more. That’s why now should be the time for Congress to focus their energy on supporting policies that help our economy succeed and grow the middle class by supporting working families.

That starts with supporting proposals like those included in President Biden’s budget proposal. Under his plan, working families would see their taxes lowered, and expansions of the Child Tax Credit and Earned Income Tax Credit would give them more opportunities to get ahead. Billionaires and big corporations would also finally be held accountable and be forced to pay their fair share.

It’s time to let the failed Trump-era economic policies expire and find solutions that make our families, communities, and nation stronger. Wisconsinites are counting on our members of Congress to do the right thing.