It’s mid-April and Americans are once again calculating what taxes they owe. But we should also be asking a different question: does our tax system reward those who give back?
Too many in Washington treat taxpayers as a source of revenue rather than as the lifeblood of a thriving economy. The result has been slower investment, fewer opportunities for families, and a sense that getting ahead is harder than it should be.
The latest round of tax reforms changes that. Our enactment of a pro-growth, pro-family tax code is unleashing an era of American abundance where businesses expand, paychecks rise, and hard-working Americans build real financial security.
The results are already showing up. In households across America, over 53 million filers (nearly 45 percent) claimed at least one of President Trump’s new signature tax cuts, according to Treasury data. In 2026, the average American taxpayer is seeing an average refund of about $3,400, an increase of 11 percent compared to last filing season, also according to Treasury data. Families across the country are seeing tax savings. For example, a family with more than two children in North Carolina can see about $6,600 in tax savings this tax year, and families with children in Arizona can see tax savings of about $,3700, according to an America First Policy Institute analysis.
That’s money families can use to build security, invest in their future, and strengthen the American Dream.
A tax code that rewards hard work starts with Main Street businesses, the backbone of our country’s innovation and growth. When companies can immediately deduct the cost of new equipment, realize immediate research tax credits, and keep more of what they earn, we are not handing out favors. We are fueling growth. Recent tax changes like renewed full expensing and expanded investment deductions improve cash flow, reduce barriers to innovation, and ultimately translate into more hiring, higher productivity, and better paychecks.
America’s small businesses have been especially hard hit over the last five years navigating inflation, struggling to find enough workers, and getting crushed by burdensome regulatory pressure. This Tax Season, entrepreneurs are being rewarded for investing, growing, and competing to improve the lives of their fellow Americans. Small business success restores confidence across the economy, enabling even further hiring, expansion, and local investment.
Abundance is also about families and making sure the next generation has a better shot than the last.
Beginning in 2026, every eligible American child can start life with a real financial foundation: a tax-advantaged investment account seeded with an initial federal contribution and open to additional contributions from families, employers, and communities. These Trump Accounts are a fundamentally different way of thinking about economic policy. According to Treasury data, five million Trump Accounts have been opened, with 1.2 million eligible for the $1,000 pilot program contribution.
Instead of multi-generational dependency that results in opportunity gaps, Trump Accounts recognize that wealth-building should begin at birth. With tax-deferred growth and the flexibility to use funds for job training, starting a business, or buying a first home, these accounts give young Americans a stake in the economy before they even enter the workforce.
The same philosophy applies to working families more broadly. Expanding incentives for employer-provided childcare, for example, helps parents stay in the workforce while helping with one of the fastest-growing household expenses. With new provisions like no tax on tips and no tax on overtime, families are being rewarded for their valuable contributions to our nation.
Taken together, these reforms reflect a simple but powerful idea: economic policy should expand what’s possible, not punish success.
Abundance means more investment, more innovation, more jobs, and more security for families. It means a tax code that rewards work, encourages saving, and empowers businesses to grow here in America.
This Tax Season, Americans will still file tax returns with the IRS. But they are keeping more of their own money because of the changes that we made last year. More than ever, their hard work is recognized and encouraged by a tax code that prioritizes growth over redistribution, and opportunity over stagnation.
Michael Faulkender served as the 16th Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Treasury in 2025 and also served as Acting Commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service. He is the co-chair for American Prosperity at the America First Policy Institute.
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