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GOP push to make Trump’s 2017 tax cuts permanent, say going back would be a ‘dramatic’ change for many
Tax season is done.
And this year, Congressional Republicans converted tax season to «sales» season. Republicans and President Donald Trump are pushing to approve a bill to reauthorize his 2017 tax cut package. Otherwise, those taxes expire later this year.
«We absolutely have to make the tax cuts permanent,» said Rep. Tom Tiffany, R-Wis., on FOX Business.
«We’ve got to get the renewal of the President’s Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. That’s absolutely essential,» said Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., on FOX Business.
Rates for nearly every American spike if Congress doesn’t act within the next few months.
CONFIDENCE IN DEMOCRATS HITS ALL TIME LOW IN NEW POLL
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., talks with the media after the House passed the budget resolution on Thursday, April 10, 2025. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
«We are trying to avoid tax increases on the most vulnerable populations in our country,» said Rep. Beth Van Duyne, R-Texas, a member of the House Ways and Means Committee which determines tax policy. «I am trying to avoid a recession.»
If Congress stumbles, the non-partisan Tax Foundation estimates that a married couple with two children – earning $165,000 a year – is slapped with an extra $2,400 in taxes. A single parent with no kids making $75,000 annually could see a $1,700 upcharge on their tax bill. A single parent with two children bringing home $52,000 a year gets slapped with an additional $1,400 in taxes a year.
«Pretty significant. That’s an extra mortgage payment or extra rent payment,» said Daniel Bunn of the non-partisan Tax Foundation. «People have been kind of used to living with the policies that are currently in law for almost eight years now. And the shift back to the policy that was prior to the 2017 tax cuts would be a dramatic tax increase for many.»
But technically, Republicans aren’t cutting taxes.
«As simple as I can make this bill. It is about keeping tax rates the same,» said Sen. James Lankford, R-Oklahoma, on Fox.
Congress had to write the 2017 tax reduction bill in a way so that the reductions would expire this year. That was for accounting purposes. Congress didn’t have to count the tax cuts against the deficit thanks to some tricky number-crunching mechanisms – so long as they expired within a multi-year window. But the consequence was that taxes could climb if lawmakers failed to renew the old reductions.
«It sunsets and so you just automatically go back to the tax levels prior to 2017,» said Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa.
A recent Fox News poll found that 45% of those surveyed – and 44% of independents believe the rich don’t pay enough taxes.
Democrats hope to turn outrage about the perceived tax disparity against Trump.
«He wants his billionaire buddies to get an even bigger tax break. Is that disgraceful?» asked Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., at a rally in New York.
«Disgrace!» shouted someone in the crowd.
«Disgraceful! Disgraceful!» followed up Schumer.
U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., (R) speaks alongside Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., (L) to reporters during a news conference on the impacts of the Republican budget proposal at the U.S. Capitol on April 10, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images)
Some Republicans are now exploring raising rates on the wealthy or corporations. There’s been chatter on Capitol Hill and in the administration about exploring an additional set of tax brackets.
«I don’t believe the president has made a determination on whether he supports it or not,» said White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt.
«We’re going to see where the President is» on this, said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent while traveling in Argentina. «Everything is on the table.»
A Treasury spokesperson then clarified Bessent’s remarks.
«What’s off the table is a $4.4 trillion tax increase on the American people,» said the spokesperson. «Additionally, corporate tax cuts will set off a manufacturing boom and rapidly grow the U.S. economy again.»
Top Congressional GOP leaders dismissed the idea.
«I’m not a big fan of doing that,» said House Speaker Mike Johnson on Fox. «I mean we’re the Republican party and we’re for tax reduction for everyone.»
FEDERAL JUDGE TEMPORARILY RESTRICTS DOGE ACCESS TO PERSONALIZED SOCIAL SECURITY DATA
«I don’t support that initiative,» said House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., on FOX Business, before adding «everything’s on the table.»
But if you’re President Donald Trump and the GOP, consider the politics of creating a new corporate tax rate or hiking taxes on the well-to-do.
Sunrise light hits the U.S. Capitol dome on Thursday, January 2, 2025, as the 119th Congress is set to begin Friday. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
The president has expanded the GOP base. Republicans are no longer the party of the «wealthy.» Manual laborers, shop and storekeepers and small business persons now comprise Trump’s GOP. So maintaining these tax cuts helps with that working-class core. Raising taxes on the wealthy would help Republicans pay for the tax cuts and reduce the hit on the deficit. And it would shield Republicans from the Democrats’ argument that the tax cuts are for the rich.
Congress is now in the middle of a two-week recess for Passover and Easter. GOP lawmakers and staff are working behind the scenes to actually write the bill. No one knows exactly what will be in the bill. Trump promised no taxes on tips for food service workers. There is also talk of no taxes on overtime.
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Republicans from high-tax states like New York and Pennsylvania want to see a reduction of «SALT.» That’s where taxpayers can write off «state and local taxes.» This provision is crucial to secure the support of Republicans like Reps. Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y., and Mike Lawler, R-N.Y. But including the SALT reduction also increases the deficit.
So what will the bill look like?
«Minor adjustments within that are naturally on the table,» said Rounds. «The key though, [is] 218 in the House and 51 in the Senate.»
In other words, it’s about the math. Republicans need to develop the right legislative brew which commands just the right amount of votes in both chambers to pass. That could mean including certain provisions – or dumping others. It’s challenging. Especially with the slim House majority.
People attend a press conference and rally in support of fair taxation near the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. on April 10, 2025. (Bryan Dozier / Middle East Images / Middle East Images via AFP)
«There were trade-offs and offsets within that bill that many people are dissatisfied with,» said Bunn of the 2017 bill. «And it’s not clear how the package is going to come together with those various trade-offs.»
Johnson wants the bill complete by Memorial Day. Republicans know this enterprise can’t drag on too late into the year. Taxpayers would see a tax increase – even if it’s temporary – if working out the bill stretches into the fall when the IRS begins to prepare for the next tax season.
It’s also thought that finishing this sooner rather than later would provide some stability to the volatile stock markets. Establishing tax policy for next year would calm anxieties about the nation’s economic outlook.
«The big, beautiful bill,» Trump calls it, adding he wants the legislation done «soon.»
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And that’s why tax season is now sales season. Both to the lawmakers. And to the public.
Politics,Taxes,Congress,Donald Trump
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Colorado House advances conversion therapy lawsuit bill; GOP lawmaker calls it ‘slap in the face’ to SCOTUS
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The Democratic-controlled Colorado House passed a bill Thursday allowing people harmed by conversion therapy to sue therapists, just days after the Supreme Court blocked enforcement of the state’s ban on the method.
HB26-1322 would establish a pathway for Coloradans to bring civil claims against licensed mental health professionals accused of causing harm through efforts to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity.
The bill also allows people to seek legal action against the entities that hired and supervised a professional who conducted conversion therapy. The bill now heads to the state Senate, which is also controlled by Democrats, for consideration.
The measure could open the door to lawsuits years after therapy takes place and expose providers to significant financial liability.
KAGAN TURNS ON LIBERAL ALLY JACKSON WITH FOOTNOTE JAB OVER FREE SPEECH
Students listen to a man explaining the significance of the statues adorning the U.S. Supreme Court building on March 31, 2026, in Washington, D.C. (Roberto Schmidt/Getty Images)
The legislation was advanced just days after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Colorado cannot enforce its conversion therapy ban regarding conversations between therapists and LGBTQ+ minors, arguing the law likely violates the First Amendment by allowing some viewpoints but not others.
In an 8-1 decision Tuesday, the court said the law favors one viewpoint by allowing therapists to affirm a minor’s gender identity or sexual orientation, but not help them change it if they want to.
Matt Soper, a Republican in the Colorado House, told Fox News Digital that the new bill pushed by Democrats is a «slap in the face» to the Supreme Court.
SUPREME COURT RULING ON SECRETIVE CALIFORNIA GENDER POLICY COULD RESHAPE PARENT RIGHTS FIGHTS NATIONWIDE
Demonstrators protest against conversion therapy outside the U.S. Supreme Court as the Court hears oral arguments in Chiles v. Salazar, a landmark case on conversion therapy, on Oct. 7, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images)
«We have a bill that’s designed to be a de facto ban on conversion therapy moving forward,» Soper said.
«That just hits at the heartstrings of the average American, that the Supreme Court can’t even have a ruling be hot off the press before you have a legislature already pushing to undo what the Supreme Court just ruled,» he continued.
«At the bottom line, there’s not even a sense of what the law is or can be from the Supreme Court when you have states that are already working really hard to undermine an 8-1 ruling.
«Americans don’t like it when you have a legislature immediately trying to overturn or undermine the highest court in the land before the printing has even cooled down.»
NJ SCHOOL DISTRICT’S SECRETIVE TRANSGENDER POLICY FACES LEGAL THREAT FOR BUCKING SUPREME COURT RULING
Colorado lawmakers passed a bill allowing lawsuits over «conversion therapy» days after a Supreme Court ruling limited the state’s ban. (Getty Images)
The sponsors of the bill in the Colorado House, Reps. Alex Valdez and Karen McCormick, released a statement following the high court’s ruling, reiterating that conversion therapy is «ineffective and harmful.»
«In Colorado, you belong just the way you are. Now more than ever, we must protect LGBTQ+ Coloradans from the harmful practice that is conversion therapy. We vow to keep moving forward to safeguard the rights of the LGBTQ+ community in Colorado,» the lawmakers said.
DAVID MARCUS: SCOTUS GETS CASE ON TRANSING KIDS RIGHT, DESPITE THREE CLUELESS JUSTICES
The Supreme Court’s decision stemmed from a lawsuit brought by Kaley Chiles, a licensed Christian therapist, who argued her conversations with youth clients were a form of protected speech.
The Colorado government argued the conversations amounted to professional conduct that the state was allowed to regulate.
The case centered on a law Colorado passed in 2019 banning what the state government described as conversion therapy.
JONATHAN TURLEY: JUSTICE JACKSON’S ‘CHILES’ DISSENT REVEALS NARROW VIEW OF THE FIRST AMENDMENT
While the 2019 law required that claims against providers be filed within two years, HB26-1322 would remove time limits for legal action, and if the victim has died, their representatives could pursue damages within five years of the individual’s death.
Soper criticized the bill for lacking a cap on recoverable damages or a statute of limitations on claims.
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«A mental health therapist could actually be liable for their entire life,» he said.
Fox News Digital’s Michael Dorgan and Ashley Oliver contributed to this report.
legislation, colorado, first amendment, politics, state and local
INTERNACIONAL
«Está todo parado»: el turismo se desploma en Cuba en medio de la profunda crisis energética
Las calles de La Habana casi sin turistas, incluso en esta Semana Santa, muestran una fotografía abandonada de Cuba. En plena crisis energética, la isla mantiene un desplome en el turismo, y registró un 30% menos de visitantes en los dos primeros meses del año respecto a 2025.
«En esta zona, Habana Vieja, Parque Central, el mítico Capitolio, el turismo está malo por el problema energético. No está entrando turismo por eso. Todo en Cuba está parado», se queja Alberto Ruiz Laffitte, encargado del cuidado de los autos clásicos descapotables destinados al paseo de turistas.
La isla sufre una grave crisis energética desde 2024 debido a las frecuentes averías de sus obsoletas centrales termoeléctricas y la falta de divisas del Estado para importar combustibles, algo que se ha agravado desde enero de este año por el asedio petrolero de Estados Unidos.
Los apagones son constantes, es difícil conseguir combustible para los automóviles y las calles aparecen oscuras y sin tráfico, una imagen que recuerda a la pandemia de Covid-19.
Hasta febrero, se habían recibido 262.496 visitantes internacionales, es decir, 112.642 menos que en el mismo período del año anterior, informó el lunes un informe de la Oficina Nacional de Estadísticas e Información (ONEI) del país caribeño.
El sector turístico, esencial para su economía, se encontraba ya en crisis antes del agravamiento de la situación energética a partir de enero por el asedio petrolero de Washington y la captura de Nicolás Maduro en Venezuela.
Solo en 2025, el país recibió 1.810.663 visitantes internacionales, las peores cifras desde 2002 (sin contar los años de la pandemia).
«Hay muy poco turismo. No hay prácticamente. Nuestro trabajo se ha hecho muy difícil; ahora hasta ofrecemos servicio a cubanos y lo cobramos en la moneda nacional», cuenta Ezequiel Palacios, chofer de un carro a caballo en la Habana Vieja.
En febrero, señaló la ONEI, apenas llegaron a la isla 77.663 turistas.
El número de viajeros de los dos mayores mercados emisores, Canadá y Rusia, descendió en un 28,4% y un 7,6%, respectivamente, hasta los 124.283 y los 20.668 ese mes.
La mayoría de mercados experimentaron retrocesos durante este período, algunos de carácter marcado, como es el caso de la comunidad cubana en el exterior, que cayó más de un 40%, hasta los 23.002 viajeros; y de EE.UU., que cedió un 55,9%, hasta los 11.791.
También sufrieron un descenso las cifras de México (6.674), Francia (5.649), España (4.422) e Italia (4.059). Solo se incrementaron los visitantes procedentes de Argentina (10.590) y China (5.429).
Con la situación de desabastecimiento de combustible en la isla caribeña, agudizada por el bloqueo petrolero, las autoridades cubanas comenzaron a cerrar algunos hoteles.
Desde inicios de febrero, el viceprimer ministro Oscar Pérez-Oliva Fraga aseguraba que «se había diseñado un plan en el turismo para reducir los consumos energéticos, compactar las instalaciones turísticas y aprovechar la temporada alta que está transcurriendo en estos momentos».
Esto afectó principalmente a varias instalaciones turísticas ubicadas en el balneario de Varadero (oeste) y de los cayos del norte de la isla.
Además, el pasado 4 de marzo, las autoridades del país caribeño extendieron hasta el 10 de abril el aviso de falta de combustible para aviones en todos sus aeropuertos, señalando que el déficit de queroseno afecta a todos los aeropuertos internacionales de Cuba.
Tras una Semana Santa en mínimos, Cuba perfila un fin de temporada alta con cifras muy lejanas a los máximos de turistas registrados en 2018 (4,6 millones) y en 2019 (4,2 millones).
Esos números récord estuvieron ligados al «deshielo» de las relaciones diplomáticas entre EE.UU. y Cuba en esos años y a la eliminación de restricciones de Washington a los viajes a la isla.
La situación del turismo en Cuba contrasta con la de destinos similares de la región del Caribe, como Punta Cana (República Dominicana) y Cancún (México), que están registrando máximos históricos de visitantes tras la pandemia.
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FIRST ON FOX: President Donald Trump’s fiscal year 2027 budget proposal focuses on combating violent crime while boosting immigration enforcement, including funding for more agents, alongside additional resources for expanded detention capacity and removal operations, according to information provided exclusively to Fox News Digital by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) led by Director Russ Vought.
The plan calls for more than $19 billion in federal law enforcement funding — a 15% increase over current levels — which the administration says would go toward targeting violent criminals, drug traffickers and illegal immigrants.
«The President’s FY 2027 Budget fully funds a strong border, the removal of violent criminal aliens from our streets, and stops the endless stream of benefits to illegal aliens given preference over American citizens,» an OMB spokesperson said in materials shared with Fox News Digital.
OMB said the administration is building on what it described as «great success in reducing crime under President Trump’s leadership.»
GOP, DEMOCRATS CLASH ON CAPITOL HILL AS REPUBLICANS TARGET CARTELS AND DEMS PUSH TO CURB ICE PARTNERSHIPS
President Donald Trump’s fiscal year 2027 budget proposal focuses on combating violent crime while increasing immigration enforcement. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)
«[We] will continue undeterred in removing the criminal illegal aliens terrorizing innocent Americans and arresting the criminals who bring drugs, crime, and chaos to our streets,» the office said.
The proposal would fund more federal agents «working to capture illegal aliens,» expand task forces targeting transnational criminal groups like Tren de Aragua and MS-13 as well as drug cartels, and increase the number of prosecutors handling violent crime cases, according to OMB.
The budget also relies heavily on funding from the Working Families Tax Cut Act (WFTC), which OMB said provides more than $190 billion for homeland security efforts over multiple years, including at least $31.4 billion in 2027.
TRUMP DEFENDS MINNEAPOLIS FEDERAL ENFORCEMENT, SAYS CRIME PLUNGED AFTER ‘THOUSANDS OF CRIMINALS’ REMOVED
The Trump administration has made securing the border and deporting criminal illegal aliens a priority. (Gregory Bull/Associated Press)
That funding would be used to finish construction of the southern border wall, deploy new border security technology and support large-scale immigration enforcement operations, according to OMB.
A major focus is expanding detention and deportation capacity.
OMB said WFTC provides $75 billion for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), including funding to expand detention space to as many as 100,000 single-adult beds and 30,000 family-unit beds. It also includes $15.4 billion for transportation to increase removals and allows for a 67% increase in ICE staffing through 2029.
TRUMP UNLEASHES ‘TOUGHEST FENTANYL CRACKDOWN IN HISTORY’ AS GOP VOWS ‘CONSEQUENCES’ FOR CHINESE PRODUCERS
US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, along with other federal law enforcement agencies, attend a pre-enforcement meeting in Chicago. (Christopher Dilts/Bloomberg)
The proposal also includes $899 million for immigration courts — a $99 million increase — which the administration says would help speed up deportation proceedings by adding judges and expanding courtroom space.
The administration has pointed to prior federal enforcement surges as evidence that a heavier law enforcement footprint can quickly reduce crime.
In Memphis, Tennessee, a Department of Justice-led operation involving federal agents and National Guard troops resulted in more than 1,700 arrests in a single month, including suspects tied to homicide, drug trafficking and gang activity, according to data previously reported by Fox News Digital. The operation also recovered nearly 300 firearms and located dozens of missing children.
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A similar federal task force effort in Washington, D.C., has led to more than 10,000 arrests since 2025 and the seizure of over 1,000 illegal firearms, according to prior Fox News Digital reporting. Violent crime in the district has dropped sharply during that period, including declines in homicides and robberies.
The Coast Guard would also see increased funding, with a $2.1 billion boost to operations aimed in part at stopping migrants and illegal drugs at sea, according to OMB.
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The broader fiscal 2027 budget is expected to include a significant increase in defense spending as well. Reuters reported that Trump is preparing to request a $1.5 trillion defense budget, potentially the largest year-over-year increase in post-World War II history, with funding for missile defense systems, fighter jets and warships.
Trump’s proposed FY 2027 budget is expected to be presented to Congress on April 3, Good Friday.
deportation, immigration, tren de aragua, illegal immigrants, border security
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