Although labeled “tax reform,” the 2017 tax law actually opened up major new loopholes for the wealthy to exploit. One of the biggest loopholes within the bill is the so-called pass-through loophole, which created a 20 percent deduction of business income for owners of businesses such as S corporations or LLCs—opening up a number of new gaming opportunities. The deduction effectively lowered the top tax rate on most business income of high-income individuals by 10 percent—from the pre-2017 rate of 39.6 percent down to 29.6 percent. The largest beneficiaries of this provision by far are the richest 1 percent of Americans, who will see nearly two-thirds of the windfall. Moreover, in the final hours before the bill was passed, lawmakers added a last-minute provision to expand the pass-through loophole, especially for real estate owners.
Originally Posted by WTF
I'm not necessarily wealthy but my tax rate went up. And I question whether the TCJA added more loopholes than it closed. I believe it's the opposite. I know the GILTI tax closed a loophole, as I've already described, but it also made the tax code a lot more complicated for any company that has to pay it.
The pass through "loophole" you mention, the qualified business income deduction, only works for the following three categories of taxpayers,
1. Legitimate small businessmen, who make up to $163,300 if a single filer or $326,600 for joint filers.
2. Businesses of any size with lots of labor expense
3. Businesses of any size with lots of depreciation on property, plant and equipment.
I don't like the QBI deduction, because it complicates the tax code, and it is a loophole of sorts. I'd rather have a lower, flatter tax. That said, there is justification for "1" and "2", that is, encouraging small businesses and encouraging businesses to hire people. Maybe that's a small part of the reason unemployment was so low before Covid. As to "3", I don't see the justification. It's kind of a give away to people who own lots of rental real estate, like Donald Trump, although I'm sure the official explanation is that it encourages investment in fixed assets.