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Trump to Promote Tax Breaks in Vegas 04/16 06:15
President Donald Trump heads to Las Vegas on Thursday to promote the tax
cuts he signed into law last year to try to highlight what Republicans see as
an economic strength ahead of this year's elections.
LAS VEGAS (AP) -- President Donald Trump heads to Las Vegas on Thursday to
promote the tax cuts he signed into law last year to try to highlight what
Republicans see as an economic strength ahead of this year's elections.
Workers who earn tips and overtime are seeing bigger returns this tax
season, but those savings and others resulting from the "One Big Beautiful Bill
Act" that Trump signed last year have been eaten away by higher gas
pricesdriven by the Iran war.
The president's rare trip out West comes as Trump faces growing political
pressure to wrap up the war and focus on a message that helps his party as they
try to defend their congressional majorities in November's midterm elections.
On Friday, Trump will hold an event in Phoenix with conservative political
group Turning Point USA. But his first stop is in Las Vegas where he will hold
a roundtable with several police officers who have benefited from new tax
breaks on overtime, along with a barber and a casino pit supervisor, who got to
claim the new tax breaks on tips.
The Treasury Department said Wednesday that the average tax refund this year
has been over $3,400, up about $340 from a year ago.
Vegas, once known for affordable living, feels economic pain
Trump has said he first conceived of his "no tax on tips" in Las Vegas, a
city where entertainment is the financial lifeblood and many workers depend on
gratuities from visitors.
But it's also a city of commuters, including the tipped workers who drive to
their jobs at glitzy casinos. Gasoline is averaging $5 a gallon in Las Vegas,
up 28% from a year ago, according to AAA.
Nicholas Delaney, an airline attendant who lives in the Las Vegas suburb of
Henderson and said he did not vote for the president in 2024, said he thinks
Trump is doing a "terrible" job when it comes to the cost of living. He thought
the tax break for tips was a good policy, but is concerned about the cost of
groceries and gas.
"I gotta spend over $100 for a full tank of gas, 13 gallons? Crazy," Delaney
said.
Paula Goodman, a bartender in a Henderson casino, said the cost of living is
her biggest concern right now, adding that she spends more than $400 a week on
groceries for her family.
But Goodman, who voted for the president, said she thought he is "doing a
pretty good damn job," and doesn't blame him for high gas prices, which she
portrayed as just a fluctuation. As a bartender, she said she personally
appreciated the tax savings on tips she brings home.
"Every little penny nowadays is, like, huge," she said. "You've seen diesel,
right? $6.11."
Tax refunds are offset by gas prices
The White House said Trump is focused on tax cuts, deregulation and boosting
U.S. energy production to drive down prices, and describes high gas prices as a
temporary disruption from the war in Iran.
"Tens of millions of Americans are benefiting this tax season from the
president's signature provisions" in the tax law, said White House spokesman
Kush Desai, saying that shows "how the administration hasn't lost focus on
delivering on our affordability agenda at home."
Even so, the conflict has made things less affordable. The Bank of America
Institute looked at its deposit and spending data and in a Tuesday analysis
concluded that "the average increase in tax refunds could cover the average
increase in gasoline spending for at least five months."
Kathy Bostjancic, chief economist at Nationwide, the insurance and financial
services company, said last week in an analysis that "the steep rise in
gasoline prices looks likely to completely offset the increased tax funds
windfall with households," stressing that the money back would likely prevent a
sharper drop in consumer spending.
Trump's economic message focusing on the tax breaks has also been drowned
out this week by distractions from the president himself, who angered even some
of his own supporters when he got into a public fight with the pope and posted
a now-deleted image on social media depicting himself as Jesus.
GOP strategist Ron Bonjean said among Republicans, "the frustration and
concern is growing every week about whether or not we will be able to hold onto
the House this November."
It takes a lot of repetition for a message like promoting the tax bill to
break through to voters, but Trump's tendency to drift into other subjects can
dilute that, Bonjean said. Trump, who has at times dismissed affordability
concerns as "a hoax," and "con job" from Democrats, has to acknowledge the
economic realities people are facing now if he wants to help his party this
November, Bonjean said.
"He absolutely has to talk about his plan to bring down high gasoline costs,
or else he's lost his own message. It won't be credible just to talk about no
taxes on tips," Bonjean said.
When will gas prices come down?
While the president has said he thinks the war with Iran will end soon, a
deal to resolve it has not yet emerged, with the U.S. and Iran still proffering
stances that are far apart.
Trump on Sunday said in a Fox News Channel interview that gas prices "could
be the same or maybe a little bit higher" by the November midterms.
By Wednesday, in another Fox News interview, Trump walked back that comment.
"I think they'll be much lower" before the election, on the assumption the war
will be long over.
"When that's settled, gas prices are going to go down tremendously," Trump
said.
Hours later at the White House, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was less
rosy, predicting that gas prices will fall sometime this summer, depending on
how the negotiations with Iran go.
"I'm optimistic that sometime between June 20th and September 20th, that we
can have $3 gas again," Bessent told reporters.
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