President Obama’s tax initiatives began with the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, which introduced the Making Work Pay credit, followed by significant extensions and modifications in 2010 and the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012. Key tax policies, including expansions to the Child Tax Credit and Earned Income Tax Credit, were first enacted in 2009.
Tax policy
It extended the Bush tax cuts for roughly the bottom 99% of income earners (those earning below $400,000, or $450,000 for married couples). Capital gains, dividends, and estate tax rates were also increased relative to the 2003–2012 levels; these also mainly affect high-income and wealthy households.
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 was legislation passed by the 115th Congress and signed into law by President Donald Trump.
Since January 1, 2018, the nominal federal corporate tax rate in the United States is a flat 21% following the passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. State and local taxes and rules vary by jurisdiction, though many are based on federal concepts and definitions.
To raise additional revenue for reform, the ACA imposed excise taxes on health insurers, pharmaceutical companies, and manufacturers of medical devices; raised taxes on high-income families; and increased limits on the income tax deduction for medical expenses.
"Read my lips: no new taxes" is a phrase spoken by American presidential candidate George H. W. Bush at the 1988 Republican National Convention in New Orleans as he accepted the nomination on August 18.
Controversial cuts to the corporate tax rate, which dropped from 35% to 21% after the tax cuts were passed, will also be made permanent in the new bill. A cut to the corporate tax rate has cost the federal government billions of dollars in lost revenue.
Donald Trump's major tax legislation, the One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB) Act, was signed into law on July 4, 2025, with most major individual tax provisions taking effect for the 2025 tax year (filed in 2026), though some changes are retroactive to 2024 or apply in 2026 and beyond, creating staggered implementation dates for different parts of the law.
Before the Trump tax cuts (Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 - TCJA), individual income tax rates ranged from 10%, 15%, 25%, 28%, 33%, 35%, up to a top rate of 39.6%, with different income brackets for single and married filers, while the top corporate tax rate was 35%, significantly higher than the post-TCJA 21% rate. The TCJA maintained seven brackets but adjusted rates and income thresholds, alongside major changes to deductions, credits, and the corporate tax structure, notes this Tax Foundation article.
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated in 2018 that the 2017 law would cost $1.9 trillion over ten years, and recent estimates show that making the law's temporary individual income and estate tax cuts permanent would cost roughly another $4.2 trillion through 2035.
Enacted in July, Trump's legislation permanently extended his 2017 tax cuts, boosted the standard deduction, increased the child tax credit and added several temporary tax breaks.
In 2012, during the fiscal cliff, Obama overcame the sunset provisions and made the tax cuts permanent for single people earning less than $400,000 per year and couples making less than $450,000 per year, but did not stop the sunset provisions from applying to higher incomes, under the American Taxpayer Relief Act of ...
The phrase Reagan tax cuts refers to changes to the United States federal tax code passed during the presidency of Ronald Reagan. There were two major tax cuts: The Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981 and the Tax Reform Act of 1986.
Bush's economic policies caused the Great Recession and Barack Obama's ended it, then your Election Day decision is likely an easy one.
“President Trump's 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act not only strengthened American manufacturing, but promoted job growth, drove innovation, increased hardworking Americans' take home pay, and increased U.S. competitiveness.
If the individual tax cuts expire, taxpayers in all income groups would face higher and more complicated taxes. Machinery and equipment expensing is a key provision that, if allowed to expire, would especially harm capital-intensive industries like manufacturing.
No Tax on Overtime is a provision that was included in a larger tax reform bill that passed in July 2025. It allows certain workers to deduct up to $12,500 in qualified overtime compensation from their taxable income on their federal income tax return. Joint filers can deduct up to $25,000.
He raised taxes on higher income taxpayers early in his first term and cut defense spending and welfare, which contributed to a rise in revenue and decline in spending relative to the size of the economy.
Key Takeaways. Large U.S. corporations often pay minimal or no income taxes by using legal tax avoidance strategies. Corporations use offshoring profits, accelerated depreciation, and employee stock options to reduce taxable income.
No such program exists officially under IRS or U.S. Treasury rules. IRS debt can only be reduced through existing programs like Offer in Compromise. His tax policy focuses on tax cuts, not back-tax forgiveness. Beware of misleading ads claiming that your tax debt will disappear under Trump's plan.
Yes, Republicans state they want cheaper healthcare but propose market-based solutions like expanding Health Savings Accounts (HSAs), increasing price transparency (especially for drug middlemen), and using tax credits for individual plans, contrasting with Democratic emphasis on ACA subsidies and government-led cost controls, though they remain divided on specific tactics like ACA fixes, with some favoring market competition to lower costs for everyone.