East Idaho Times

With the expiration of the Republican-enacted 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) approaching at the end of 2025, the U.S. Senate Finance Committee held a hearing on the upcoming tax policy debate, which Ranking Member Crapo (R-Idaho) called “one of the most critical issues that will face our nation next year.” Crapo used the hearing as an opportunity to highlight the significant economic benefits that all Americans experienced after the TCJA’s passage—especially for middle-income taxpayers and small businesses—while debunking critics’ rhetoric that the TCJA was simply a “tax break for billionaires.” As Crapo noted at the hearing, “Unless Congress moves to extend these [TCJA] provisions by the end of next year, taxpayers would face the largest tax increase in U.S. history.”

The TCJA lowered tax rates across the board, providing trillions of dollars in tax savings, with middle-income taxpayers receiving the largest proportional benefit of the cuts. It also doubled the standard deduction and expanded the child tax credit, which made the tax code simpler and provided targeted tax relief for the middle class.

If these provisions are allowed to expire, individuals making less than $400,000 per year would face a tax increase at the end of 2025 of more than $2 trillion, breaking the Biden-Harris pledge not to impose tax hikes on the middle class.

Despite her promise to help those starting businesses, Vice President Harris has also not addressed the 20 percent deduction for pass-throughs—the chosen business form for 95 percent of American businesses. Small business owners have repeatedly said extending this deduction is their top priority, stressing that it enables them to create new jobs, pay their employees more and reinvest in their businesses. Unless Congress moves to extend these provisions by the end of next year, taxpayers would face "the largest tax increase in U.S. history."

Despite critics’ rhetoric that the TCJA was simply a “tax break for billionaires,” Crapo emphasized that "the law provided a tax break for 80 percent of Americans" and actually limited tax breaks for the wealthy by reducing costly deductions.

The TCJA made the tax code even more progressive, with high-income earners paying a larger share of income taxes while lower-income earners received significant reductions in average tax rates.

As this Committee considers tax policy in the year ahead, Crapo stated that "the American people deserve careful deliberation of policies that will provide economic growth, tax certainty and opportunities for all Americans." He expressed his commitment to helping all hardworking taxpayers get ahead and indicated his willingness to work with anyone from either party who is ready to focus on that priority.