Tax Day & Strait Talk – Top 3 Takeaways – April 15th, 2026
Takeaway #1: What the Trump Tax Cuts Have Meant to You
Today is Tax Day, which is one of two days I least look forward to during the year (November 30th – which serves as property Tax Day locally is the other), however this year the overall burden for many people was less than it was last year. This year there’s the one – two punch benefit of President Trump’s first tax cuts – originally passed under the Tax Cut and Jobs Plan in 2017 – which were made permanent and the new tax cuts delivered via the President’s promise of no tax on tips, no tax on overtime, and no tax on Social Security (with limits). The average outcome this tax season has produced a refund of $3,462. So, what does that mean to you? It means that the average taxpayer is paying $346 less in federal taxes this year (technically last year, but ya know how this works...at least somewhat). So, that’s what the One Big Potentially Ascetically Pleasing Bill meant to you...about $350 more in your pocket on average. Now, when it comes to Trump tax policy...that’s of course just part of the thing. When you factor in the Trump Tax cuts of 2017 – the total benefit of the average tax filer due to the Trump tax cuts... amounted to $1950 this year. That’s about $2,000 more per year, every year, in your pocket because Donald Trump was president of the United States. In other words, for the average tax filer in non-interest bearing terms Donald Trump has let you keep $13,150 more of your own money that what would have otherwise been the case if Hillary Clinton and Kamala Harris had it their way. This of course applies to the most TDS riddled mentally weak people in society to which we may speak too. So, file this one away for the next time the TDSer in your life says something particularly stupid. Ask them if they’d prefer to have paid $13,150 more in taxes to date to have had it their way? Because that’s the added cost of their ill-advised vote, and it’s a reminder in this mid-term election year too. For as frustrated as we may be with Congress, and often for good reasons, if Republicans didn’t have a majority in 2017 would the Tax Cut and Jobs Act have ever passed? If Republicans in the current congress didn’t hold their razor thin majority, would it have been made permeant along with the addition of no taxes on overtime, Social Security and tips? So aside from all of the nonsense that’s what a GOP majority along with a Trump presidency has meant to you too.
Takeaway #2: Significant progress in the Strait?
Two things of particular importance happened yesterday...and no, one of them isn’t about Eric Swalwell’s accusers coming forward (although the criminal cases being brought against him will likely be the end of him politically and potentially his ability to live freely). The first development involved the talks between Israel, Lebanon and the U.S. which potentially holds the key to finding resolution over how to address Hezbollah...Iran’s largest terror proxy. This was/is a sticking point with the ceasefire agreement with Iran continuing to manipulate the Strait of Hormuz. But the other particularly important news had to do with what comes next with Iran. Since peace talks stalled after 21 hours on Saturday the sticking point in any deal has been a rather massive deal...specifically that our position is that Iran can never develop nukes and Iran’s position is that they’ll develop nukes. The first development to be reported was this statement from President Trump who said that the Pakistani negotiator was “fantastic”. Specifically he said... You should stay there, really, because something could be happening over the next two days, and we’re more inclined to go there. It’s more likely, you know why? Because the field marshal is doing a great job. That was certainly interesting as well as encouraging and so was this... by midday on Tuesday Bill Hemmer, of Fox News, reported this:
Takeaway #3: The U.S. and Iran have "all the ingredients of a deal"
but have yet to come to a final agreement, according to a “senior U.S. official”. Continuing with the source...A lot is happening today and tomorrow. We have all the ingredients of a deal, but it's not all there yet. Well, for there to be any ingredients for a deal, let alone all of the ingredients, it necessarily means there’s movement by the Iranian regime to back away from nukes. That news also produced a couple of other things that were particularly pleasant to see. Another massive stock market rally – including the whopping tenth straight winning day for the Nasdaq – and the complete recovery of all Iran war related losses. So yes, the stock market is higher today than when the Iran war first took place. And related...oil was lower by nearly $8 per barrel to bring the price to $91...$4 lower than where oil closed on Friday. There’s a quickly growing belief that we’re close to the end of this thing with a deal that may be in place by or on Thursday. Stay tuned...