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The White House released an official statement on Monday, boasting about the economic results of the Trump administration during its second term, highlighting historic tax relief, job growth, and rising wages just days before Tax Day in the United States.
The document, titled "President Trump Defends the American Worker," states that "through historic tax relief, higher wages, and a manufacturing resurgence, his policies are delivering real results for families and service workers across the country."
To illustrate the impact of his tip tax exemption policy, Trump organized an event at the White House where he received an order from McDonald's via DoorDash and gave a cash tip of $100 to a full-time delivery driver who has been a resident of Arkansas since 2021.
The woman acknowledged having received $11,000 in tips last year, now exempt from federal taxes thanks to the law signed by Trump on July 4, 2025 "One Big Beautiful Bill Act". These savings have allowed her to pay off medical debts for her husband, who reduced his work hours in 2024 due to cancer treatment.
According to figures from the White House, over 5.5 million Americans have claimed exemption from tips tax, with an average deduction of more than $7,100, while more than 25 million have claimed exemption on overtime, with an average deduction of more than $3,000.
The typical working family sees an increase in their net income of over $10,000 per year, and Americans earning between $15,000 and $80,000 receive an average tax cut of 15%, according to the official statement.
In the job market, manufacturing added 15,000 jobs in March, closing the first quarter of 2026 with the first positive growth in three years. Construction contributed an additional 26,000 jobs in the same month, and weekly wages in the private sector increased by 3.9% over the past year.
According to The Daily Signal, data from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) supports part of the official optimism: cumulative tax refunds for the 2026 season reached $221.7 billion, up from $195.2 billion in 2025 and $185.6 billion in 2024, a year-over-year increase of 13.6%. The average refund stands at $3,521, compared to $3,170 the previous year.
Nicole Huyer, a researcher at the Heritage Foundation, noted that the increase is primarily due to higher average amounts, rather than a larger number of filers, and attributed the phenomenon to several provisions of the law being retroactive: "Employees and payroll systems continued to use the previous withholding tables during 2025, leading many taxpayers to have more money withheld from their paychecks than their final tax obligation required."
However, the outlook is not free from criticism. Sources such as the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and the Cato Institute indicate that the exemptions for tips and overtime benefit only 3% and 9% of taxpayers, respectively.
Additionally, the same law cut over $1.1 trillion in social programs such as Medicaid, impacting 12 million people.
The White House, however, maintains its triumphant narrative: "Trump is finally doing what previous presidents failed to accomplish: putting the American worker first".
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