A breakdown of the tax fight ahead of us and how we can use tax code to create a fairer economy.
Tax Day is just around the corner. After filing your taxes, if you find yourself reflecting on the tax system and whether you’re being taxed fairly compared to the super wealthy, we have some answers for you.
For too long, rigged tax policy has favored large corporations and the ultra-rich few while ordinary families pay the price. Billionaires in the U.S. pay a lower tax rate than teachers and nurses. Elon Musk—the richest man in the world and head of DOGE —paid an effective tax rate of just 3.27% between 2014-2018.
And now, while people across the country are struggling to make ends meet, the Trump-Musk administration is pushing for massive tax giveaways to the ultra-rich few at the expense of ordinary people. Their proposed tax cuts—a tax scam really—will intensify our already-extraordinary levels of inequality, giving massive tax handouts to billionaires and large corporations.
What can we expect from the Trump administration in terms of the tax code?
President Trump is planning to rig the tax code for himself and his historically-wealthy administration. This year, he wants Congress to renew the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), a billionaire-friendly tax law from his first term, and provide even more handouts to big corporations and the ultra-wealthy.
These policies are expensive; they come at the cost of the rest of us.
Lawmakers have proposed massive cuts to critical poverty-fighting programs like Medicaid and food assistance that millions of people rely on. President Trump has also announced sweeping new tariffs that risk pushing up costs for families.
What happens if Congress renews the Tax Cuts and Job Act?
The TCJA was a signature piece of legislation for the first Trump administration. The cuts amounted to an over $1 trillion giveaway for the ultra-wealthy, large corporations, and Big Oil that did little for ordinary families.
Much of the TCJA expires this year, giving Congress the chance to invest in workers and families. Instead, lawmakers are proposing trillions of dollars in tax breaks for ultra-rich individuals and corporations that will be paid for by the rest of us.
Renewing the TCJA is projected to cost $5.5 trillion over the next decade, with two-thirds of this total coming from tax breaks for corporations and rich individuals. That money could reduce inequality if Congress invested in workers and families.
What is Oxfam’s vision for a fairer tax system?
Oxfam supports a tax code that will reduce inequality, one that makes the super-rich, Wall Street, and corporations pay their fair share and that advances racial, gender, and climate justice. Rejecting tax giveaways for corporations and the ultra-wealthy can enable investments in workers and families.
This vision promotes inequality-reducing policies such as:
- Increasing taxes on inheritances
- Taxing large fortunes
- Expanding and improving the child tax credit
- Ending fossil fuel subsidies and making rich polluters pay
How can we achieve an economy that works for all of us?
If Congress allows the TCJA’s tax breaks for corporations and rich individuals to expire, this will result in nearly $4 trillion in revenue that could reduce economic inequality and insecurity not just here in the U.S, but around the world. We could put that money towards investments in education, health care, infrastructure, and clean energy—things that truly benefit everyone.
We are calling on Congress to reject Trump’s proposed handouts for corporations and the ultra-rich and use the expiration of the TCJA as an opportunity to create a tax code that tackles inequality. We deserve a tax system that prioritizes ordinary workers and families and invests in our collective future. It’s the first step in building an economy that takes care of everyone, not just the wealthy few.