Tariff rebate checks are ‘not really on the table.’ Here’s why.

00:00 Speaker A

So, between the new tax rules and the potential tariff reduction next year, this topic is being talked about a lot. Will these two elements be enough to offset higher costs for households next year, so to speak? Tariff, tariff reduction and tax savings.

00:16 Speaker B

Therefore, I think that a tariff reduction is not actually on the table. The president and his administration have talked a lot about this, but actually, you know, Congress needs to pass a resolution to implement a new rebate policy to send checks to people, and I don’t think that’s high on Congress’ priority list. People will benefit from the tax cuts Congress approved last year. Both when they go to file their taxes next term and receive larger refunds. and then the Treasury department will adjust the withholding tables so that lower taxes are withheld from each paycheck. meaning a slightly higher take-home pay with each paycheck. and people will notice. Depending on the individual’s situation, this will determine whether tax deductions outweigh tariff burdens. But overall tax cuts have a much larger revenue impact than tariff increases. So it makes sense for most people that when you weigh the combination of tax cuts and tariffs, they’ll come out ahead. But I think an important caveat to this is that tax cuts mostly continue the status quo. As I mentioned above, most of what Congress did was to extend expired tax provisions. So from a personal perspective, you know, if your tax bracket stays the same from year to year, your standard deduction is close to the same with a small increase, you won’t feel much different, but you will notice the tariffs. So while it may seem like big tax cuts from a budgetary point of view, from a sentiment standpoint people might feel worse.