A Year After the Middle Class Tax Cut, the Rich Are Winning

When President Donald Trump and the Republican Congress set out to re-write the tax code, their goals were simple enough: Lower tax rates, juice the economy, reward some taxpayers while punishing others. The price tag, though, was enormous: by some estimates, as much as $1.9 trillion over 10 years.

And their tool—an enormously complex, 186-page piece of legislation—still puzzles tax experts a year later. While offering most individuals an initial tax break, and many businesses with large windfalls, the law uses methods that would make Rube Goldberg proud. It takes away as many perks as it provides, and opens as ...