WASHINGTON — The Republican tax bill picks winners and losers across the income scale, including among millionaires. It is good news for people like President Trump but bad news for professional athletes.
The bill delivers large breaks to high-earning owners of certain businesses, known as pass-through entities, which comprise most of Mr. Trump’s business empire, and to heirs of large estates, such as Mr. Trump’s children. So-called passive owners of businesses like real estate partnerships and hedge funds or even a local landscaping service, the example that Republicans pointed to when unveiling the plan last week, would enjoy the largest tax cut of all individual taxpayers under the bill. In part, that’s because the legislative text includes a carve-out allowing these earners to maintain their state and local income tax deduction — a valuable benefit that all other individual taxpayers could lose under the bill.
By contrast, millionaires who earn money solely from their high-salaried employment — such as professional athletes — would see their taxes go up if the bill becomes law, because of a steep increase in their personal tax rates.
