Rushmore State News

U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) addressed the Senate to highlight the impact of tax relief measures included in the recently enacted One Big Beautiful Bill. According to Thune, a new report shows that Americans in every county will benefit from this legislation.

“Americans in every county in America will see tax relief from this bill,” Thune said. He emphasized that Republicans designed the bill to provide broad-based benefits, particularly for working Americans and families across all income levels.

Thune explained that the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act had previously lowered tax rates for all income levels and increased both the standard deduction and child tax credit. Without further action, those provisions were set to expire this year, which would have resulted in higher taxes for many families. “What that would have meant is that a typical family earning $80,000 a year would have seen its tax rate jump from 12 percent to 15 percent next year,” he said.

He noted additional consequences if Congress had not acted: “The standard deduction – which is something 90 percent of taxpayers in this country use to simplify and reduce their taxes – would have been cut nearly in half. And the child tax credit would have shrunk from $2,000 per child to $1,000 per child.”

Thune stated that with passage of the new bill in July, lower tax rates are now permanent. The increased child tax credit has also been made permanent and raised further to $2,200 per child with adjustments for inflation. The higher standard deduction was also preserved.

The legislation includes other provisions such as a $6,000 bonus deduction for seniors and elimination of taxes on tips and overtime pay. These changes are intended to benefit workers who rely on tips or work extra shifts—such as servers, drivers, first responders, nurses, and tradespeople—by allowing them to keep more of their earnings.

“We also eliminated the tax on overtime pay,” Thune said. “That means that folks like police officers, first responders, and nurses won’t have to pay taxes on the money they earn when they spend time away from their families working extra shifts to keep us safe.”

Small businesses—including family farms and ranches—will benefit from permanent lower rates and continuation of the 199A small business deduction. The bill also makes bonus depreciation for new equipment permanent so businesses can deduct costs immediately when investing in improvements or technology upgrades.

Immediate expensing for research and development is now permanent as well—a measure Thune said supports innovation efforts nationwide.

Additionally, an increase in the exemption threshold for estate taxes aims to protect more family-owned businesses from being forced into costly planning or liquidation upon inheritance.

Thune concluded by stating: “With the working families tax reform Republicans enacted this year, America’s tax code is now permanently oriented toward supporting hardworking Americans.”