Before the House of Representatives passed President Donald Trump‘s “big, beautiful bill,” U.S. Representative Tom Suozzi (D-NY), a member of the Committee on Ways and Means’ Subcommittee on Tax, asked Thomas Barthold, Chief of Staff for the Joint Committee on Taxation, questions regarding the reconciliation package.
[Note: Barthold joined the Joint Committee staff as a staff economist in 1987, during the Reagan administration. Prior to that, he taught economics at Dartmouth College after earing a doctorate degree in economics from Harvard University.]
With the controversial bill now through the House — passing by a single vote — and in the hands of the Senate, the X account “Democrat Wins Media” is resharing the video below in which Suozzi pointed out the gaps between what Trump promised on the campaign trail and the bill’s actual provisions.
Suozzi said, “The president has said ‘your tips will be 100 percent yours.'”
He asked Barthold, “Does this tax bill continue the payroll tax on people’s tips?” Barthold replied, “Uh, yes, yes it does.”
BREAKING: In a stunning moment, Democratic Congressman Tom Suozzi just exposed the Republican hypocrisies in their reconciliation package. If you watch one thing today, make sure it’s this. pic.twitter.com/aAZIruJQVh
— Democratic Wins Media (@DemocraticWins) May 29, 2025
Suozzi continued: “The president said ‘your overtime will be tax free’, does this bill continue the payroll tax on overtime?” Barthold replied, “It does not exempt overtime from payroll tax.”
[Note: Because payroll taxes are most commonly paid by employers, Republicans assert that employees will receive the tax breaks Trump promised. However, economists recognize that employees absorb the cost of payroll taxes, either directly or passed on through compensation adjustments. As ADP explains “employer payroll taxes are taxes incurred when businesses hire people. Some of these taxes are paid by both the employer and the employee; others are paid only by employers. Examples include Social Security tax, Medicare tax and unemployment taxes.”]
Suozzi continued: “The president said it can remove taxes on social security. Does this bill remove taxes on social security benefits?”
Barthold replied: “The legislation provides an increased exemption amount,” to which Suozzi interrupted and asked, “But does it remove taxes from social security benefits?” to which Barthold said, “It does not change social security.”
Note: The Joint Committee on Taxation, originally created in 1924 as a Select Committee to investigate the Bureau of Internal Revenue, was mandated as a check on the power of the forerunner to the IRS.
At the time, U.S. Senator James Couzens (R-MI) asserted that millions of tax dollars were being lost through the favorable treatment of large corporations by the Bureau. One result? Couzens was told by the Bureau that he owed more than $10 million in back taxes.
According to the JCT website, “Then Treasury Secretary Andrew Mellon was believed to be personally responsible for the retaliation against Senator Couzens. At the time, Secretary Mellon was the principal owner of Gulf Oil, which had benefited from rulings specifically criticized by Senator Couzens.”
