Washington, D.C. — Recent research has revealed that the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) did not deliver the promised benefits to workers, families, and the nation's economy. The TCJA, which was costly and heavily favored corporations and the wealthy, failed to live up to its proponents' claims during the initial debate over the bill.

According to a new issue brief by the Center for American Progress, the corporate changes under the TCJA disproportionately benefited the wealthy, with the top 1 percent of the income distribution receiving a third of the benefits from the corporate tax revisions. This is in contrast to the overall reduction from the bill as a whole.

Furthermore, research highlighted in the issue brief shows that the benefits of the TCJA's corporate rate cuts primarily went to high-wage earners, executives, and shareholders, rather than low- or middle-waged workers. Additionally, a significant portion of the gains from the corporate tax cut ended up in the hands of foreign owners of equity in U.S. corporations.

Despite promises that the tax cuts would pay for themselves, corporate tax collections did not see a significant increase, while profits soared. The impact on investment was modest at best, with a notable portion of the tax savings being directed towards stock buybacks, which disproportionately benefited the wealthy.

In light of these findings, Jean Ross, senior fellow at CAP and author of the issue brief, stated, "Overwhelming evidence shows that the TCJA failed to deliver on its promised benefits, and the data back it up. It did, however, significantly reduce corporate tax collections, diverting resources from public investment to the pockets of wealthy shareholders, executives, and the highest-paid workers."

For more information or to access the full issue brief titled "The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act Failed To Deliver Promised Benefits" by Jean Ross, interested individuals can contact Sarah Nadeau at [email protected].