Trump Keeps Lying He Gave Americans A Big Tax Cut When Most Got One In The Hundreds

President Donald Trump took his lying to Las Vegas on Thursday, where he continued misrepresenting a new tax law benefiting senior citizens and workers who collect tips or work overtime.

“You have no tax on Social Security for our seniors, lot of seniors out there,” he told his audience, falsely. “And you have no tax on overtime. You know this state covers them all. You have the seniors. You have the overtime, but you have no tax on overtime, you have no tax on tips, and you have no tax, think of it, on Social Security.”

Trump also claimed that the average tax refund this year is “over $4,000.” According to U.S. Treasury figures, it is actually $3,521, which is only $350 more than last year.

Trump then repeated a previous lie that a DoorDash delivery driver who brought him a McDonald’s meal at the White House on Monday saved $11,000 from the new deduction on tipped income – a mathematically impossible figure.

Trump has described the deductions as “no tax on tips,” “no tax on overtime” and “no tax on Social Security” – language that has been adopted and repeated by his White House, his administration and his Republican allies.

The word “no,” however, is inaccurate in every instance.

The deduction for tip income is capped at $25,000 for a household. The overtime deduction is limited to $12,500 and applies only to so-called “premium” pay, excluding half of double-time pay and two-thirds of time-and-a-half pay.

The deduction for the elderly is the most dishonestly named of all, and does not exempt Social Security from federal income tax. It is an expanded $6,000 deduction for individuals 65 and older. Since Social Security income is taxed less than ordinary income, the deduction is most beneficial to the well-off who receive much of their income from wages or retirement savings, rather than Social Security.

Further, while Trump’s aides and allies have taken to calling the new deductions the “Working Families Tax Cuts,” a full 73 percent of the benefits flow to households earning between $100,000 and $500,000 a year, according to a Tax Policy Center analysis.

All three of these deductions will expire with the end of Trump’s term, as will the new deduction for interest on loans used to purchase an American-made car and a higher deduction for state and local taxes.

Ironically, the people who will benefit the most from these new breaks are likely owners of expensive homes in high-tax states, which tend to be run by Democrats. They will now be able to deduct up to $40,000 in state and local income and property taxes per household.

Trump, nevertheless, continued his boasts, facts notwithstanding, in Las Vegas.

“Every single American at every income level has more money in their pockets this week because of the Republican tax policies,” he claimed.

In reality, the vast majority of American households do not qualify for any of the targeted deductions and will likely only benefit between $150 and $525 from the standard deduction and $200 more per minor child.