Yes, You’re Getting a Bigger Tax Refund. But That’s Not the Whole Story.

New Year’s resolutions are often about being more responsible with your time, exercising, or working toward a larger goal. The value of keeping such a resolution comes when you can look back and see how far you’ve come in accomplishing what you set out to do.

Last year, Republican lawmakers set their sights on major taxA tax is a mandatory payment or charge collected by local, state, and national governments from individuals or businesses to cover the costs of general government services, goods, and activities. legislation, and now, the results of that work will start to show up—including larger refunds for millions of taxpayers. But that doesn’t mean Congress should stop its tax reform work, especially if lawmakers are serious about addressing affordability and economic anxiety in their 2026 goals.

As we look ahead to economic policy for this year, there are three important lessons from last year.