Trump's 'big, beautiful bill' hits new snag as billionaires launch fight

Yet another issue has cropped up for President Donald Trump's "big, beautiful bill" of tax cuts for the wealthy, reported Axios — billionaire sports owners have managed to get a tax hike that affects their industry axed from the Senate version of the bill.

The repeal of tax breaks on "intangible assets" for sports teams, which passed the House in the bill, would mean certain owners could no longer deduct expenses like player contracts or media rights. The change, which could raise $1 billion for a bill that heavily increases deficit spending and doesn't have enough offsets as it is, wouldn't apply to current owners, only future ones — and it's one of the few parts of the bill that poll as popular with voters.

Nonetheless, a number of team-owning billionaires lobbied aggressively to prevent that tax break from being repealed — and they have gotten their wish.

"New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, a longtime Trump ally, was among those pushing to keep the tax break," noted the report. Others fighting to keep it include "Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam, who during the 2024 campaign donated $250,000 to the NRSC and $50,000 to the Senate Leadership Fund (SLF) super PAC," and "Denver Broncos owner Rob Walton, who last cycle gave $2 million to the SLF and more than $100,000 to the NRSC."

Per the report, the latest version of the Senate bill removed the tax break — which in addition to growing the deficit for the final product, creates one more disagreement between the Senate and House that needs to be resolved: "Because leaders in both chambers want to eliminate differences in the House and Senate versions before the Senate passes its bill, the tax break plan will be a negotiating point as the upper chamber moves toward a final version of Trump's big bill."

This also comes as the Senate pushes for much deeper Medicaid cuts than the $600 billion outlined in the House version, which could be a major sticking point for swing-seat Republicans who already had to be persuaded to go along with the smaller cuts.