Trump promised he would deliver middle-class tax cuts that would create jobs and provide substantial savings for working families. Instead, the biggest winners from Trump’s tax law were big corporations, the wealthiest Americans, and the Trump family, while middle-class Americans were largely left behind.

Big corporations:

• Large corporations had their effective tax rate cut to the lowest level in decades and nearly 100 profitable companies saw their tax bills cut to zero under Trump’s tax law.

• Instead of using their tax savings to benefit workers, large corporations announced billions in stock buybacks for their investors while they laid off workers and closed stores,

Big pharma: 

• Four big pharmaceutical companies combined for a $7 billion windfall under the first year of Trump’s tax law, and benefited from shifting profits to tax havens while they cut investments in research.

• The biggest pharmaceutical companies announced more than $45 billion in stock buybacks after the Trump tax, but made no plans to lower drug prices that consistently increased while Trump was in office.

Big oil:

• Many big oil companies avoided paying any federal taxes in the first year under Trump’s tax law.

• Oil companies spent their tax cut windfall on payouts to wealthy shareholders rather than hiring, pay raises or expansion.

Big banks:

• Wall Street got a $21 billion tax break in the first year of Trump’s tax law, but laid off workers and raised fees.

• The six biggest banks have received $32 billion in tax savings under Trump’s tax law, including $18 billion in 2019.

The wealthiest Americans:

• The wealthiest 1% end up receiving nearly 83% of the benefits from Trump’s tax law by the end of the next decade.

• The effective tax rate for the wealthiest 0.1% fell by 2.5%, helping billionaires pay a lower rate than the working class for the first time in history.

Donald Trump and his family: 

• Wealthy heirs can now inherit $22 million without having to pay any tax, which means Trump’s kids could save $4.4 million on their inheritance because of Trump’s tax law.

• Donald Trump could save around $11 million a year from his tax changes — but we can’t know for sure since he refuses to release his tax returns.

Real estate developers:

• Large real estate developers are the biggest beneficiaries of a loophole that was sold as a small business tax cut, while leaving out smaller firms.

• Trump’s wealthy developer friends benefitted from opportunity zone tax breaks that were supposed to help low-income communities after the White House rewrote rules to benefit investors.

CEOs and wealthy shareholders:

• CEOs and wealthy shareholders were the biggest beneficiaries of a record more than $1 trillion in stock buybacks by America’s biggest corporations.

• Companies have spent nearly three times more on stock buybacks and dividends than on increased business investment—which Republicans said would boost growth and help workers.

Foreign investors:

• By 2027, foreign investors will be getting the majority of the economic benefits from Trump’s tax law.

• Overseas tax havens benefited as Trump’s tax law incentivized U.S. manufacturers to invest in overseas operations rather than in the U.S.

Lobbyists:

• New tax code complexities from Trump’s tax law were a boon to the thousands of lobbyists and tax lawyers who worked on it on behalf of special interests, and many of the law’s authors are now lobbyists.

• Trump’ tax law was written behind closed doors and faced intense pressure from corporate lobbyists.