Expressing Support for Tax Policies That Support Working Families
Floor Speech
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Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, Pursuant to House Resolution 1147, I call up the resolution (H. Res. 1156) expressing support for tax policies that support working families, and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.
The Clerk read the title of the resolution.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Res. 1156 and the working families tax cuts, which have led to this year's historic tax refund season.
Today, April 15, is tax day. The IRS typically receives around 24 percent of tax returns in April. What millions of Americans are finding out today is that their tax refund is significantly larger than it has been in the past, thanks to the working families tax cuts.
Refunds this tax season have increased by 11 percent, with the average refund over $3,400. Much of that relief is thanks to the policies championed by President Trump. Over 6 million Americans have claimed no tax on tips, 25 million Americans have claimed no tax on overtime, and 30 million taxpayers claimed the Social Security deduction. Over 1 million Americans claimed the no tax on auto loan interest.
Who are the folks claiming these deductions? It is working-class Americans. It is not millionaires. It is not billionaires. Overall, nearly half of all tax filers this season claimed at least one of those key provisions.
Under this tax relief, tipped workers get, on average, a $1,300 tax cut. Hourly workers get, on average, a $1,400 tax cut from no tax on overtime. A $12,000 deduction for a married couple on Social Security means a more secure retirement.
When Republicans enacted the working families tax cuts, we made America's workers, families, farmers, and small businesses our top priority.
An inconvenient fact that the Democrats don't talk about is that the share of income taxes paid by the top 1 percent actually went up from 37 percent to 40 percent. The very rich are paying a higher share of taxes today than they were before passage of this bill. Why? It is because the other 99 percent of Americans saw the share of their taxes go down, from 63 percent to 60 percent.
Don't take my word for it. Listen to the stories of everyday Americans, like Raymond Huff from Colorado, who testified before the Ways and Means Committee that the working families tax cuts will help him grow his small business and hire more workers; Nancy Overman from Nevada, who testified that she will be able to afford basic necessities without draining her retirement savings, thanks to the no tax on Social Security; Sharon Simmons, a DoorDash driver--who showed up at the White House yesterday, in fact--originally from my home State of Missouri, who testified to how no tax on tips will help her better afford her husband's medical treatments and travel to Missouri to see her family more often; or the waitress in my district who told me that she got a $10,000 tax refund, thanks to the no tax on tips, the expanded child tax credit, and other provisions. She told me, Mr. Speaker, that because of that provision, she will be able to pay for her rent for an entire year and a lot of food for her family.
That makes a huge impact on everyday Americans. Families have more money in their pockets today, thanks to a boosted and permanent child tax credit of $2,200. When you add in the permanent increase and the standard deduction, up to $31,500, a family of four earning $73,000 had zero Federal tax liability this year.
When they controlled Washington, Democrats spent $10 trillion, and they created a cost-of-living crisis where inflation went up almost 21 percent.
Under Republican tax relief, we expanded 529 accounts to cover K-12 education expenses and trade schools. We expanded health savings accounts so that another 10 million Americans can better manage healthcare costs. For those who are looking to adopt, they have more access to the adoption tax credit, with $5,000 of that cost being refundable.
Under Trump Accounts, newborn U.S. citizens in America get a $1,000 investment to start building a more secure financial future. It does not matter if they live on a city block or on a county road. They qualify.
Due to the working families tax cuts, Americans have more money to buy school supplies and put food on their tables. Family farmers and small businesses have more certainty and resources to invest, to grow, and to hire. These are the results of Republican tax relief that puts America's working families first.
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Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I would just like to point out that for years, Members in this body have tried to implement no tax on tips. Never before did it ever become law until we passed it within the Big Beautiful Bill Act. It delivered for a lot of tipped employees. In fact, 6 million tipped employees used it this tax filing season.
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Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, because of the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, also known as the working families tax cuts, the folks in Brooklyn, New York, will actually face an average tax cut of $3,341. That is the area that the minority leader represents. I am happy that Republicans could deliver tax relief for the folks in Brooklyn, even though their Representative could not do that.
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Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Malliotakis).
Mr. Speaker, I think it is important to point out that 86,800 individuals in the district of the ranking member of the Tax Subcommittee, who was speaking before me, because of passage of this bill, those 86,800 families in California will not have $1,000 child tax credit, they will have a $2,200 tax credit. Those are the people that are benefiting in this bill that he voted against.
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Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I think the most important point about the child tax credit in the working families tax bill is that it is, in fact, permanent. It will not be reduced. It will not expire. That is something that didn't happen when the Democrats were in charge a few years ago on the child tax credit. They made it temporary.
Mr. Speaker, the working families tax cuts were written for the working families of this country by the working families of this country.
After I became chairman, the first hearing that the Ways and Means Committee held was not here in Washington. It was at a lumberyard in Petersburg, West Virginia, ``The State of the American Economy: Appalachia.''
We then traveled across the country, listening to workers and job creators and families in Yukon, Oklahoma; in Peachtree City, Georgia; and in Erie, Pennsylvania. We heard directly from waiters and waitresses, factory workers, retirees, welders, and small business owners about how tax relief would benefit them.
Under this bill, a family of four who makes less than $73,000 a year will have zero in Federal tax liability. This is tax relief for Americans who need it the most.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.
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