Adam Oleson has enjoyed a tax refund every year for the past couple of decades. He normally counts on it to make an extra house payment, reduce student-loan debts or pay down the credit cards.
But this year, no such luck. Not only won't Oleson get a refund, he said he owes the Internal Revenue Service $1,500.
A 40-year-old electrician, Oleson lives in Omaha, Nebraska, with his wife and three children. His is the kind of middle-class family that supporters of the 2017 tax overhaul said they were trying to help. But Oleson said the loss of deductions for union dues, tool purchases and continuing education costs have actually made him worse off.