Soaring inflation fueled by out-of-control government spending has put a terrible strain on family budgets over the past few years. This drove Latino voters to support change in Washington: a new president and a new majority in Congress. However, will lawmakers listen to the voters who put them in charge?
As Congress convenes and President Donald Trump takes office, Washington faces the twin challenges of restraining the spending that drove up prices and dealing with the expiring provisions of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
The TCJA, the landmark bill from Trump’s first term, lowered tax rates for all Americans, increased the standard deduction to simplify taxation, and helped lower the tax burden on small businesses.
If that law expires, Americans will be hit with massive tax increases at a moment when we’re still reeling from the last administration’s record-high inflation.
Hispanics would be disproportionately affected by these tax increases. Latinos helped drive change in Washington, and they have the opportunity to promote the policy changes necessary to protect and preserve the American dream by preventing a sizable tax hike on people.
A recent Public Opinion Strategies poll found that 90% of people opposed raising taxes in 2025. A LIBRE Initiative poll showed that 80% of Latinos said their taxes are too high. The same number said it is a bad time to increase taxes.
If the TCJA expires, a typical Hispanic family with two children filing jointly would face a tax increase of $1,242.70 and a 2.04% drop in take-home pay. The numbers are similar across the board for single filers, with or without children.
And it matters little where you live. In states with large Hispanic populations, the average tax increase would range from $1,838 in New Mexico to $3,670 in Colorado. Californians and Floridians would pay more than $3,500 additional in taxes. Texans, Illinoisans, and Arizonans would all pay more than an additional $2,600 a year.
Because of the inflation caused by reckless federal spending, the average U.S. household has cumulatively spent $32,500 more due to inflation since 2021. Everyday items such as groceries and gas weigh heavily on people’s minds and wallets. While it’s true inflation has cooled, it’s also true that prices remain high and continue to climb.
Raising taxes won’t lower prices, create jobs, or improve the economy. It won’t help bring down the deficit, either. If taxes go up by a trillion dollars, rest assured the government will find some way to spend $2 trillion of that.
Preserving the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act means you are able to keep more of the money you work hard to earn, and it means a stronger economy.
The United States added 5 million jobs between the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act being signed in 2017 and the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. The country’s total and Hispanic unemployment rates fell to 3.5% and 3.9%, respectively, in September 2019. That is a historic low for Hispanic unemployment and the lowest top-line rate since 1969. Keeping the tax cuts is a no-brainer.
We know our country is divided. However, most people agree Washington shouldn’t be raising anyone’s taxes.
If we can’t win this tax fight, how will we succeed in other pro-growth fights to come? For true economic prosperity, the country needs to increase energy production, unleash risk-taking and innovation in the private sector, promote trade, deregulate, cut spending, and halt the growth of the bureaucratic behemoth.
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The outlook for spurring innovation and growth in the national economy will start with seeing how Congress handles tax reform. Those in the effort to extend the tax cuts would empower American families. Those who would vote to eliminate the tax cuts seek to empower an already monstrous government.
Congress has an opportunity to come together at the beginning of a new administration to avert crushing tax increases that people don’t want and can’t afford. Lower taxes are critical to helping Hispanic families keep more of their hard-earned money and to getting our country back on the path to prosperity.
Daniel Garza is the founder and president of the LIBRE Initiative.