Trump Tax Cuts Will Lift Wages for Hardworking Americans, Heritage Foundation Chief Claims

By Sam Barron | Friday, 02 January 2026 10:49 PM EST

E.J. Antoni, the chief economist at the Heritage Foundation, told Newsmax Friday that the new tax breaks passed under the Trump administration will benefit all Americans.

Antoni said businesses will be more powerful thanks to new legislation that allows them to deduct their full expenses.

“That’s going to not only make the businesses more profitable, but allow them to hire more people,” Antoni said on “Greg Kelly Reports.”

“And those workers that they are hiring are going to pay less in taxes through things like no tax on tips, no tax on overtime,” he added.

“It really is amazing how this combination of tax reform and regulatory reform is helping all the dials line up this year for 2026.”

Antoni said the Americans who work the hardest are the ones who stand to benefit the most.

“The people who are working for tips, the people who are putting in all those extra hours, the blue collar folks who are working a lot of extra hours, they’re really going to benefit from this.”

He said the affordability crisis that many consumers are concerned about began under former President Joe Biden, but he believes Trump is turning the economy around.

“The whole reason that Trump was sent back to Washington is because of how lousy the economy was doing under Biden. People’s real wages did fall under Biden,” Antoni said.

“And now under Trump, they’re actually picking up over the last year. They’re up about 1.5%,” he added.

“We’re moving in the right direction. We haven’t yet regained all the lost ground from the Biden years, and I think that’s why people are unhappy.”