On July 3, the United States House of Representatives passed President Donald Trump’s signature tax cut and spending package, which he has called the “One Big Beautiful Bill“.The bill combines tax reductions, spending hikes on defence and border security, and cuts to social safety nets.
Democratic Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries warned that the bill “hurts everyday Americans and rewards billionaires with massive tax breaks”.
Trump’s erstwhile ally, billionaire Elon Musk, publicly opposed the bill, arguing it would bloat expenditure and the country’s already unmatched debt.
Trump is expected to sign the bill into law on Friday, July 4 – the US’s independence day – at 4pm ET.
Here’s what’s next – and whom the bill will affect:
How have taxes been lowered?
The main goal of the bill was to extend Trump’s first-term tax cuts.
In 2017, Trump signed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which lowered taxes and increased the standard deduction for all taxpayers, primarily benefitting higher-income earners.
More than a third of the total cuts went to households with an income of $460,000 or more.
The top 1 percent (roughly 2.4 million people) received average tax cuts of about $61,090 by 2025 – higher than any other income group. By contrast, the middle 60 percent of earners (78 million people) saw cuts in the range of $380 to $1,800.
Those tax breaks were set to expire this year, but the new bill has made them permanent. It also adds some more cuts Trump promised during his latest campaign.
For instance, there is a change to the …
