\n<\/p>\n
Ron Bonjean, a Republican communications consultant, said Trump has his job cut out for him.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s going to have to repeat the benefits of the bill over and over and over and over again, which is primarily, \u2018I made sure your taxes didn\u2019t go up,’\u201d Bonjean said, adding that such repetition is generally one of Trump\u2019s strong suits.<\/p>\n
That emphasis is needed because the bulk of the tax cuts in this bill are actually an extension of lower rates that have been in place since 2018. About 80% of American families saw their tax bill reduced when the initial cuts were passed in Trump\u2019s Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. But for the majority of taxpayers, the savings weren\u2019t big enough to be obvious, said Vanessa Williamson, a senior fellow in governance studies at the Brookings Institution.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the end of the year, people are looking at their refunds. They\u2019re not thinking about whether over the course of the year, 10 bucks here or there was different,\u201d Williamson said.<\/p>\n
This isn\u2019t a new phenomenon: During the George W. Bush administration, the government sent $300 rebate checks to people\u2019s homes, but it didn\u2019t take long for voters to forget about them, said Williamson. When tax cuts passed early in the Obama administration, many voters actually thought their taxes had gone up. But Williamson said this package may be even harder to sell.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne of the things that\u2019s really unusual about the bill this year, unlike the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and unlike the Bush tax cuts before, this time they tied tax cuts to spending cuts, and those are cuts that will affect everyday people,\u201d Williamson said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n