LETTER: Scrutinizing the Trump tax cuts

Arthur Timm, Las Vegas, August 3, 2026 – 9:01 p.m. The Friday Review‑Journal recently published a piece that highlighted President Donald Trump’s promotion of the tax cuts included in last year’s legislation, without offering any critical examination of those provisions. The article notes that while tips and overtime pay may be excluded from income tax for certain qualifying employees, those workers still owe payroll taxes amounting to 7.65 percent on that compensation. Consequently, employees whose earnings are so low that they owe no income tax receive no actual tax benefit. Moreover, if employers reduce or eliminate tipped income, workers could see their overall earnings decline, negating any purported advantage for low‑income earners. Regarding Social Security benefits, the claim that they are exempt from income tax is inaccurate. The tax bill contains no such exemption. Instead, it provides individuals aged 65 and older with a deduction of up to $6,000, irrespective of whether they receive Social Security. As a result, seniors may see either a smaller or larger benefit from this deduction compared with a scenario in which Social Security benefits remained untaxed.