Will middle-class Americans notice the tax cut?

Washington

A FUNNY thing happened when Congress approved a tax cut for the middle class eight years ago: Most Americans didn't notice.

The 2009 economic-stimulus bill contained a one-year tax break worth US$800 for married couples in 95 per cent of working households - a little over US$15 a week. A February 2010 poll found that just 12 per cent said their taxes had been reduced. Fifty-three per cent said they saw no change. A remarkable 24 per cent thought their taxes had increased.

"Virtually nobody believed they got a tax cut," said Jared Bernstein, an economist who worked in former president Barack Obama's White House. He called it a source of frustration at the time.

That 2009 tax cut contains warning signs for President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans. Their tax plans would deliver about the same level of initial relief to households with incomes between US$40,000 and US$100,000 - roughly US$800 on average - according to data from Congress's Join…