H&R Block reported that due to Pres. Trump's Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, its average customer paid 25 percent less in taxes in 2018 than in 2017.

As America's largest tax preparer, the Kansas City, Missouri company operates 12,000 retail offices across the nation and filed 19.9 million tax returns in 2017.  For 2018 tax returns filed through March 31, H&R Block reported that its average customer paid $1,200 in federal tax.  That amounted to a 25-percent savings, or about $400 less than the $1,600 paid in 2017.

Despite fears that residents of states with high tax rates would suffer due to the Trump tax cuts' $10,000 limitation for state and local tax deductions, H&R Block reported that New Jersey customers saved 29.1 percent, or $809; Massachusetts customers saved 27.6 percent, or $715; and California customers saved 27.1 percent, or $630.

Despite analysis by the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center when the federal tax cut passed in December of 2017 that the average American would save 21 percent, or about $390, Democrats protested that 88 percent of the benefits, or $1.8 billion over the next decade, would go to the top 1 percent of upper-income families.

Democrats also howled that the Republican legislation capping the "SALT" (state and local tax) deduction would have the adverse impact of raising taxes of average Americans.  Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) hissed that "hardworking middle-class folks are not going to appreciate Congress double taxing them."  House minority leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) cackled that the bill was "an insidious effort to raise taxes on middle class families." 

But the Tax Policy Center pointed out that less than 22 percent of U.S. tax filers claim any SALT deductions, and 78 percent of those filers have incomes over $200,000. 

Most customers visiting H&R Block in the local strip mall had incomes of less than $80,000 in 2018.  But due to the Trump tax cut almost doubling the standard deduction from $6,500 to $12,000 for single tax-filers and from $13,000 to $24,000 for taxpayers who are married filing jointly, the average H&R client enjoyed a big tax break. 

As the numbers have rolled in, many Democrats have toned down their caterwauling about the middle class being left out of tax savings.  Their new line of attack is that despite new Internal Revenue Service withholding tables reducing the federal tax withheld from employee paychecks each period, most middle-income taxpayers would get a smaller tax refund, or have a bigger balance due, when filing their 2018 return.

H&R Block reported that based on data for clients who visited local branch offices or used its H&R Block.com online application, the average 2018 refund for customers eligible for a refund increased by $43, or 1.4 percent higher than in 2017.  That is better than the latest IRS website report that the 2018 number of refunds was about 2.2 percentage points lower, and the average refund was 0.7 percent lower than in 2017.

The mainstream media have parroted the Democrats' line that the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act was bad for the middle class and great for the "1 percenters."  According to the Wall Street Journal-NBC News poll earlier this week, 28 percent of respondents thought they are paying more taxes under the Trump tax cut; 17 percent thought they are paying less in taxes; and rest are unsure or believe they are paying the same amount.

But with the America's median household member's combined personal savings and retirement accounts equaling just $4,830, realizing he is paying $400 a year less in federal taxes is sure to make the Trump tax cut a popular 2020 election issue.