On Friday, President Trump signed the GOP tax bill into law, a major legislative victory for the Trump administration.
He signed the $1.5 trillion tax measure into law earlier than he previously stated, citing television news’ speculation about whether he would sign the bill before Christmas following its passage in Congress.
The bill passed with only Republican votes, according to a Washington Post report, and will affect almost every American household.
The bill saw criticism from Ohio University graduate students, who, in a previous draft of the bill, would have been taxed more due to the taxation of tuition waivers. In the bill’s final draft, however, the taxation of tuition waivers was removed. Instead, the bill eliminates the student loan interest deduction.
Americans in low- and middle-income tax brackets used to be eligible for up to $2,500 a year in student loan interest deductions. In the bill signed by President Trump, that provision will no longer exist by 2018, meaning the cost of a college education will increase for many students, according to a previous Post report.
Polls have shown that the bill is largely unfavorable among the American public, but Republican lawmakers are hoping large savings on paychecks will increase the favorability of the bill in the future, according to that Washington Post report.
The bill lowers individual tax rates, but those cuts will expire in 2025, according to a New York Times report. The largest cut will benefit corporations and does not expire, unlike the individual tax rates.
The bill also eliminates the individual mandate included in the Affordable Care Act, according to that New York Times report. Repealing that individual mandate does not repeal the ACA, but makes it so that the Obama-era act is less effective. More Americans will be faced with higher premiums or loss of health insurance altogether due to that repeal of the individual mandate.
President Trump praised the new bill on Friday in a tweet, stating that taxes will be lowered for the average American.
