$3,700.

That’s the average tax refund for the 63.5 million returns that have been processed as of earlier this week, according to the U.S. Department of the Treasury. The average return is up from about $3,100 last year, and it’s a testament to the work of Republicans and President Donald Trump.

The bad news, of course, is that millions of filers gave a short-term loan to the federal government, which confiscated too much money from their paychecks during 2025. (Automatic withholding is a sinister tax-collection method.) The great news is that millions of Americans are benefiting from the tax cuts passed by Republicans in 2017 and made permanent in last year’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

Every single Democrat opposed those tax cuts both times, and they sat on their hands when President Trump told State of the Union listeners about how much they’d save.

Instead, Democrats want to raise taxes by $4.4 trillion and claim they’re only “taxing the rich.” In California, they want to tax wealth itself rather than income, and in New York City, they want to raise property taxes on the middle class.

Democrats are the epitome of the tax-and-spend mentality. They take money from one person and redistribute it to someone else, all while congratulating themselves for their (biblical) generosity — read: unconstitutional theft.

Republicans are a long way from perfect, of course, but by contrast, they generally believe in lower tax rates, which enable people to keep more of their hard-earned money. We’re now seeing the obvious results of GOP efforts.

“Halfway through this filing season, the Working Families Tax Cuts are already delivering meaningful relief to middle- and low-income taxpayers, increasing after-tax income and putting more money back into the pockets of American families, workers, and small business owners,” said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. “Treasury and the IRS have worked tirelessly to ensure that relief was delivered efficiently, securely, and on time. This filing season reflects our commitment to making the tax system work for working families. Because of the landmark legislation signed into law by President Trump, millions of Americans are keeping more of what they earn and seeing their paychecks go further than ever before.”

Part of those savings are benefiting lower- and middle-income workers who depend on overtime or tips to make ends meet. Making that income tax-free is not the most economically or fiscally sound policy, but there’s no question people who earn tips and overtime income deeply appreciate the tax relief. It also completely undercuts the Democrats’ refrain that GOP tax cuts are just “for the rich.”

According to the Treasury, “Over 3.5 million returns have claimed No Tax on Tips,” and “Over 15.5 million returns have claimed No Tax on Overtime.” Furthermore, “Over 9.2 million returns have claimed the Enhanced Deduction for Seniors,” which greatly helps people relying on Social Security.

As our Douglas Andrew wrote this week, “Yes, the Democrats have always been the Party of Big Government, but now they’re also firmly ensconced as the elites, the paternalists, the Chardonnay-sippers, the advanced-degree types, and the party of the obscenely rich — Elon Musk being the exception. Republicans, on the other hand, are increasingly the workers, the grinders, the middle managers, the folks in the field and on the shop floor.”

The people claiming the deductions touted by Team Trump are not wealthy. They’re everyday Americans working for a paycheck. And Republicans are for them us.

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