June 10,2025

New JCT Analysis Exposes Republican Giveaway to the Wealthy Hidden in Expanded Passthrough Deduction

Half the Benefit of Expanded Republican Passthrough Will Go to Millionaires and Billionaires; Republicans Also Loosened Rules to Allow Highly-Paid Lobbyists and Lawyers to Qualify

Washington, D.C. – Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) today released a new analysis by the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) that reveals an immense handout to the wealthy hidden within the Republican proposal to expand the tax deduction for passthrough entities known as Section 199A, a provision Republicans falsely claim is focused on small businesses. Including the proposed increase to 23 percent, the passthrough deduction would cost more than $800 billion. 

The JCT analysis, a detailed breakdown of how Americans of different income levels stand to benefit from the proposal in the Republican budget bill, found: 

  • Half of the benefit will go to millionaires and billionaires.

  • Nearly two-thirds of the benefit will go to those who earn more than half a million per year. 

  • Nearly a third of the benefit will go to ultra-wealthy individuals in the top 0.1 percent of earners. 

  • By the last year before the bill’s expiration, the average annual tax break for an ultra-wealthy individual in the top 0.1 percent will be nearly $280,000. 

“Republicans talk about this tax break like it’s all about the corner stores and auto mechanics people think of when they hear the phrase ‘small business,’ but the truth is, it’s just another Trojan horse for handouts to the ultra-wealthy,” Wyden said. “If Republicans had any interest in targeting the passthrough deduction to true small businesses, the kind that line Main Streets all across America, I’d help them write the bill myself. Instead they’re going to stuff $400 billion into the pockets of millionaires and billionaires, and they’re going to pay for it by slashing Medicaid, increasing child hunger and taxing the middle class.” 

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