Who will benefit from President Trump’s ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’?
The nations richest Americans will see benefits from the Trump administration’s “Big, Beautiful Bill,” while the poorest will be left behind.
The legislation dubbed the “One Big Beautiful Bill” by President Donald Trump would increase resources for middle and top earners at the expense of lower-income Americans, according to a new analysis from the Congressional Budget Office.
The nonpartisan CBO analyzed the combined effects of many of the House bill’s tax reductions and its cuts to federal programs, including Medicaid and nutrition assistance, over the period between 2026–2034. The mega bill’s now in the Senate, which is considering changes.
Benefits of the bill increase with income, with the lowest tier households losing out, CBO said. The agency compared the bill with current tax law, which encompasses Trump’s 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
The current pending bill would extend the 2017 tax cuts, add work requirements to Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, or food stamps), give seniors an additional tax credit to help offset Social Security taxes, and create savings accounts for babies, among other things.
Here is how the CBO says the bill would affect Americans:
- Those in the lowest income group would lose about $1,600 in resources per year, which is about 3.9% of their income, mostly because of reductions in non-cash transfers, such as Medicaid and SNAP. Since many in this group pay little to no federal taxes, they would benefit less from tax cuts than higher income groups.
- Middle-income households would see their resources increase by $500 to $1,000, or 0.5% to 0.8% of their projected income.
- The top 10% of households would see a gain of about $12,000, or about 2.3% of income, mostly because of tax cuts.
Medora Lee is a money, markets, and personal finance reporter at USA TODAY. You can reach her at mjlee@usatoday.com and subscribe to our free Daily Money newsletter for personal finance tips and business news every Monday through Friday.
