Category World News

Beginning in 2026, residents of the United States will be affected significantly by the country’s tax code, healthcare system, and government benefits.

That’s because, on Thursday, certain provisions of President Donald Trump’s signature tax and spending package are scheduled to take effect.

Known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), the package was signed into law in July, amid bipartisan pushback.

Fiscal conservatives feared it would increase the nation’s deficit, while left-leaning critics feared that millions of Americans would be without food or health insurance as a result of the changes.

Notably, the OBBBA did not grant any extensions to the COVID-era healthcare subsidies, which are scheduled to expire on Thursday.

Democrats have warned that, without those subsidies, health insurance premiums purchased under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) are set to skyrocket.

What and how will these changes affect Americans going forward in 2026? We break down the new year’s resolutions.

What is the One Big Beautiful Bill Act?

Before Trump ran for re-election in January 2025, he had suggested drafting a comprehensive bill that would cover all of his platform’s components.

He wrote on January 5 that “Members of Congress are getting to work on one powerful Bill that will bring our Country back and make it greater than ever before.”

That idea became the foundation for the OBBBA, which Trump signed into law on July 4, the Independence Day holiday.

It contains dozens of provisions, ranging from Trump’s 2017 tax cuts to policies that encourage fossil fuel production.

What changes are coming to the price of healthcare?

The Affordable Care Act’s marketplace, an online exchange that assists consumers and small businesses in connecting insurance plans, is expected to increase in prices for US citizens.

Under then-President Joe Biden, the ACA healthcare subsidies that were put in place as part of the 2021 American Rescue Plan Act were not extended by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Those subsidies expire on December 31.

The National Economic Council’s former deputy director, Daniel Hornung, said, “The healthcare issue is a big one because people typically have their health insurance premium taken out of their account on the first, second, or third of the month.”

In response, “we’re likely to see people’s health insurance premiums double in the coming days.”

Why hasn’t Congress extended the healthcare subsidies?

The decision to extend the ACA subsidies has caused a jiggle in Congress.

Before Congress extended the healthcare subsidies, Democrats resisted passing budget legislation in September. But Republican leaders said they would only vote on the subsidies after the budget legislation was signed.

The longest government shutdown in US history was 43 days due to this impasse.

A few Democrats joined their political party members to defeat the budget legislation, with the agreement that the subsidies would be extended in December.

But rival proposals from Democrats and Republicans to address the subsidies both failed earlier this month.

On January 1st, the expiration will go into effect, but Congress won’t go back to work until January 5.

How many people will be affected by the expiration of the subsidies?

Approximately 2.2 million Americans are projected to lose healthcare coverage because of the increased cost, according to analysis from the Congressional Budget Office.

Former Biden administration official Hornung claimed that many more people are susceptible to higher healthcare costs.

“We’re talking about about 20 million or so Americans who are either on the state exchanges or the national exchanges, so that’s a significant issue,” Hornung said.

What new work requirements does the federal food assistance program have?

There are new work requirements under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that help low-income households pay for groceries under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits.

Able-bodied adults between the ages of 18 and 64 must now work or participate in school or a training programme for at least 80 hours per month to remain eligible.

Beginning January 1, the policy applies to both new and renewal applicants.

Implementation dates for current SNAP recipients vary by state. Some states have already notified existing beneficiaries of the pending changes, while others will begin enforcement later. For instance, the new regulations are not anticipated to go into effect until March 2026 in New York.

The new regulations may put additional pressure on service-industry workers, many of whom have irregular schedules that prevent them from putting in 80 hours a month, according to Al Jazeera’s report.

How will inheritances be affected?

An expanded estate tax exemption is one of the changes. Individuals who inherit an estate less than $15 million are exempt from the federal estate tax under the new policy. For couples, that threshold is $30m.

Prior to the 2017 law, the maximum amount for untaxed estate heirs was $ 5.5 million ($7.2 million in 2025, inflation-adjusted) for individuals and $ 11 million ($14 million for couples).

Critics claim that significant generational wealth transfers are tax-free because of the higher thresholds. As a result of the new provision, fewer than 1 percent of taxpayers ever face the estate tax.

What changes will there be regarding deductions going forward?

The 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which was passed during Trump’s first term, will become permanent on January 1. Many of these provisions benefit higher-income households.

Some businesses are able to deduct 20% of their qualifying income from federal taxes under one of the new 2017 provisions.

Additionally, the SALT deduction cap has been changed.

Typically, the federal government allows taxpayers to pay less in federal taxes if they can show they are paying a certain amount in income, sales and property taxes on the state and local levels.

However, there is a cap on how much of that reduction is. The SALT deduction cap increased from $10, 000 to $40, 000 after the One Big Beautiful Bill Act was passed.

That cap will increase by 1 percent to $40, 400 for the 2026 tax year, with additional 1 percent increases through 2029.

Residents in high-taxing states like New York and California, according to opponents, will disproportionately benefit from those cap increases.

The OBBBA will increase the taxpayers’ standard deductions for 2026.

The standard deduction will increase by $350 for single filers, $700 for joint filers, and $525 for heads of households over the 2025 rates.

In comparison to last year, the deduction will increase modestly by $50 for those over 65.

Are there any benefits for childcare?

Trump made reducing childcare costs a key campaign objective during his re-election bid for the year 2024.

Trump stated to the Economic Club of New York in 2024, “Childcare is childcare.” “It’s something you have to have in this country. You must possess it.

The child tax credit is anticipated to slightly increase as a result of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

In 2026, parents can receive tax credits for up to 50 percent of their eligible childcare expenses.

However, one child’s qualifying expenses are set at $3, 000 and two or more at $6, 000. This is an increase from the current maximum of $2,200 per child for 2025.

What about Trump’s campaign promise, ‘ No tax on tips or overtime’?

There are already provisions in the tax code, including the repeal of both overtime and no federal income taxes, both of which are retroactive for income earned after January 1, 2025.

Taxes paid on eligible 2025 income will not be refunded on annual tax returns earned after 2026 and beyond.

Workers can deduct up to $25, 000 in cash tips, including those paid via credit and debit transactions.

Some tipped workers may benefit, but many on the lower income scale, especially those who work in the food service, will not benefit significantly.

The sector’s roughly two-thirds of its employees don’t make enough money per year to meet the $1,750 threshold for filing federal income taxes in 2026. The new law would ultimately not benefit them.

Workers are able to deduct up to $12,500 in overtime income from the company’s no-tax-on-overtime policy, though.

According to Saru Jayaraman, the founder of One Fair Wage, a nonprofit advocacy organization, “policies like “no tax on tips” or “no tax on overtime” do not address the main issue that millions of workers across the nation face, which is that wages are simply too low to begin with.

“A policy that keeps base wages low and unstable while offering tax relief many workers will never see does not solve the affordability crisis”.

If Congress doesn’t extend these tax exemptions, they will end in 2028, Trump’s final year in office, and they are not permanent.

At least 10, 600 attacks were reported in multiple nations, including Lebanon, Iran, Syria, Yemen, and Qatar, in Gaza and the occupied West Bank in 2025.

The United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia’s partner in the Arab coalition in Yemen, and its Gulf Arab neighbor, Saudi Arabia, have a history of conflict.

Without informing Saudi Arabia or the internationally recognized Yemeni government, two ships reportedly entered the port of Mukalla carrying more than 80 vehicles and weapons and ammunition bound for the Southern Transitional Council (STC).

The two allies’ differences in Yemen are significant, and this may be the turning point for Yemen right now.

Following a military uprising between Saudi Arabia and the UAE in the Yemeni governorate in December, Mukalla is in control.

In this conflict, there are two factions that each are loyal to a different political party: the Presidential Leadership Council (PLC). Before it exploded in public over the past few days, the difference had been simmering for years in the shadows.

The Houthis, who brutally overran the capital Sanaa in 2015 and later imposed their own government, are key members of the Arab military coalition in Yemen.

Since the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC) formed in 2017 as a separatist political and military force seeking an independent state in South-South Yemen, an independent state, between 1967 and 1990, this conflict of interest has been escalating gradually.

The STC forces earlier in December overran all southern governorates, including Hadramout and al-Mahra governorates. Saudi Arabia, which saw the action as a threat to its national security, did not like it.

With its oil and gas resources and related infrastructure, Hadramout also contributes to Yemen’s economic development and is a key border crossing with Saudi Arabia, which contributes to border security and trade.

Politically, economically, and militarily, Yemen’s current situation will be cast a dark cloud by the most recent public conflict between Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Saudi and Emirati were the two political parties that made up Yemen’s political elites, with the government members pursuing either of the two camps.

The eight-member PLC, an internationally renowned organization that is already divided into camps affiliated with Saudi Arabia and the UAE, would provide the most authoritative insight into the differences.

Sultan al-Arada, Abdullah al-Alimi Bawazir, Othman Hussein Mujalli, and Rashad al-Alimi, the PLC president, are all members of one camp. Abdul Rahman al-Mahrami (also known as Abu Zaraa), Tariq Mohammed Saleh, and Faraj Salmin al-Bahsani form the second, which is led by Aidarus al-Zoubaidi, the STC force’s head.

Following the Saudi attack on the ships carrying weapons to the STC, the leaders of both camps made two contradictory statements regarding al-Alimi’s request for the UAE to leave Yemen. One was opposed to the UAE’s withdrawal from Yemen, showing that they are representing regional players’ interests while also confirming that Yemen is a site of proxy war.

The quick developments and subsequent events in Yemen have caused the country to enter a new internal conflict with the political and military components that make up the legitimate government, along with new internal conflict between numerous armed groups.

Additionally, Sanaa and Yemen’s most populous provinces, which were under the control of the Houthi rebellion in the north, are now under focus.

Faceing the Houthis’ takeover was the legitimate Yemeni government’s and the Saudi-led Arab coalition’s main objectives. After more than a decade of armed conflict, the nation is currently on the verge of collapse and a new tumult, which could allow the Houthis to retake control of the nation.

The Saudi-led coalition’s recent events will further deteriorate, casting doubt on its cohesion and ability to accomplish Yemen’s stated joint goals.

A “great leap forward”

However, according to Schwartz, both under the leadership of Democrats and Republicans, the consolidation of government data has continued over the years.

He claimed that surveillance is “biased, unforgivably.”

However, the process accelerated with Trump’s second term. According to Schwartz, the Trump administration’s actions violate privacy laws, indicating a “dangerous” transition away from protections from the Nixon era.

The elimination of the safeguards from Watergate, which were meant to keep databases separated, has been the top issue with the federal government, he said.

Schwartz noted that Trump’s consolidation efforts have been hampered by the use of the new, fully integrated data systems.

According to Schwartz, “as the current administration has made a significant leap forward in terms of surveillance and invasion of privacy, so has it also been a less transparent government in terms of the general public understanding what it is doing.”

Trump had already signed an executive order on March 20 that forbade government organizations from “taking all necessary steps” to end what he called “data silos.”

US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the IRS struck a deal in April to exchange taxpayers’ personal information, including their names and addresses.

In order to accomplish Trump’s goal of deporting immigrants, the memo was seen as a tool.

The agencies’ data-sharing agreement was put on hold by a federal court in November. However, other initiatives are still being made.

The Supreme Court upheld DOGE’s request to gain access to sensitive Social Security data in June. And just this month, the Trump administration pressed states to share information about food aid recipients in order to avoid losing funding.

While the data consolidation project appears to focus on immigrants, Venzke argued that people of all races shouldn’t be surprised if their personal information is later used to evade detection.

There is no justification for it to be restricted to people without legal documents. They are vastly expanding the existing system to include all kinds of information about US citizens, according to Venzke.