Trump’s Tax Triumph

By James Freeman,

The IRS becomes a less burdensome beast.

As Americans face today’s deadline for filing their federal returns with the Internal Revenue Service, it’s a moment to consider the initial results and the potential impact of a less burdensome IRS.

Given how many companies have reported positive news resulting from the tax law, it’s almost becoming an old story, though the reform is barely four months old. Corporate earnings season is bringing another slew of encouraging dispatches from American business. Today the Journal calculates that the four giants of U.S. banking— JPMorgan , Wells Fargo, Citigroup and Bank of America—saved a total of $2.3 billion in the first quarter thanks to the new federal corporate tax rate of 21%, down from 35%.

The optimism is not confined to the financial sector. The AP reported last week:

Analysts expect companies in the S&P 500 to report a 17 percent jump in earnings per share for the first three months of the year, thanks in large part to lower tax rates and the strong global economy. That would mark the best quarter of growth in seven years, according to FactSet.

Wages have also been growing. “ Kroger , Walmart , Target Corp. and other food retailers are investing savings from the federal tax law to boost worker pay and benefits,” according to a recent Journal report.

John Kartch at the influential advocacy group Americans for Tax Reform has been keeping a running tally of businesses responding to lower tax bills by rewarding employees or customers. As of Monday, he counts 507 companies announcing pay raises, bonuses, 401(k) match Increases, or other positive results of the new tax law.

The flood of salary and bonus announcements shows that the benefits of corporate tax reform are not confined to the shareholders and pensioners who directly or indirectly benefit from rising profits at public companies. It’s still too early to declare Trumponomics a success, but after last month’s Labor Department report showed that this is officially the best job market for those seeking work in the history of U.S. government statistics, Friday’s report on job openings once again beat expectations.

And starting with the returns due next year, individuals will also enjoy filing under a simplified system with the doubling of the standard deduction—as well as lower rates up and down the income ladder.

Few people in politics or the press want to give Mr. Trump credit for much of anything. But eventually they’ll have to acknowledge that tax reform works.

More From The Wall Street Journal (subscription required):