Senator Ricketts’ Weekly Column: One Week After Tax Day, Working Families Tax Cuts Delivers

We’re one week past Tax Day and Nebraskans are seeing benefits from the Working Families Tax Cuts.  I’ve said before that this is a generational bill.  And we are seeing how impactful it is.  This historic tax relief will continue to support Nebraskans and put more money in their pockets. The Working Families Tax Cuts prevented an average $2,400 tax increase on Nebraskans.  The average refund this year was $3,400.  That’s more than a 10% increase.  Already we know more than 53 million people benefitted from no tax on overtime, no tax on tips, or the bonus deduction for seniors. I hosted a roundtable earlier this year with members of the hospitality industry in Omaha.  We talked about what this bill meant to these business owners.  We discussed why these tax cuts and new provisions were crucial to their workforce.  One restaurant manager told me of a waitress whose wages were incorrectly reported.  Her W-2 reported some overtime pay as regular pay.  When this was corrected, she received an extra $1,500 in her tax returns because of the no tax on overtime provision.  That’s a monthly house payment.  That’s more money to buy groceries and gas.  That’s meaningful. When I was Governor, we exempted state income taxes on Social Security.  Now, the Working Families Tax Cuts makes this tax relief available for all American seniors.  We created a $6,000 tax deduction for seniors.  It’s $12,000 for couples, which means 88% of American seniors won’t pay federal income taxes on their Social Security benefits.  That’s about 265,000 Nebraska seniors. But Tax Day is just the beginning.  As small businesses see lowered tax burdens, they’ll be able to grow and hire more workers.  With the Working Families Tax Cuts, we are encouraging businesses that want to invest in research or expand manufacturing.  We made Senator Deb Fischer’s Paid Family and Medical Leave Tax Credit permanent.  This encourages businesses to provide paid family leave for new kids.  We also made it more affordable for businesses to offer childcare.  Best of all, businesses know that their workers are keeping more of their hard-earned money. There will be more to come.  As the year continues, we will see higher wages and more growth thanks to the Working Families Tax Cuts.  We’ll remember every single Democrat voted against this bill.  That means that every single Democrat in the Senate voted to raise taxes on Nebraskans.  Every.  Single.  One. I came to the Senate to renew opportunity for Nebraskans.  And that’s what we’re doing.  We are restoring and making permanent pro-growth tax relief that will support the Good Life for years to come.  I will keep fighting to renew opportunity and support the Good Life. My team and I are here to serve you.  Contact us anytime by phone at 202-224-4224.  You can also view my website at https://www.ricketts.senate.gov/contact .