Donald Trump team is talking tax cuts again – While former president Donald Trump may be enjoying a very comfortable lead in the polls against his rivals for the GOP presidential nomination, his team isn’t resting on their laurels. They are working to develop strategies and policies for their candidate to push on the campaign trail.
Among these is a set of aggressive cuts to both individual and corporate taxes, the framework of which harkens to a controversial tax bill the Trump administration championed in 2017.
According to an article by the Washington Post, which cited “half-dozen people close to the former president”, the cuts would be offset by a new 10% tariff on imports to the country – tariffs on imports being another of Donald Trump’s favorite talking points. The move is projected to generate hundreds of billions of dollars in revenue, but consumers would have to contend with higher costs related to the tariffs.
Sources for the Washington Post story say that talks are very private and preliminary at the moment, and no concrete numbers or figures have been determined.
Biden Campaign Blasts Trump Tax Idea
The Biden campaign has expectedly issued a scathing criticism of the plan, saying that the only real beneficiary of such tax cuts would be corporations and really wealthy individuals.
“Donald Trump is plotting to bring back the failed, trickle-down policies of his first term that lined the pockets of his ultra-wealthy friends and created incentives for corporations to ship American jobs overseas,” said Ammar Moussa, one of the Biden re-election campaign spokespersons.
Moussa added, “This is the story of the Trump economy — blowing up the deficit to help out his wealthy friends at the expense of hardworking Americans and their families.”
The White House itself did not issue a statement on the move, and instead once again touted what they believe to be the achievements of Bidenomics, the president’s economic plan.
“Through Bidenomics investments, President Biden is pushing every day to grow the American middle class, cut costs for families, and slash our deficits,” said Andrew Bates, a White House deputy press secretary. Bates also said that the 2017 tax law is to blame for the rise in the national deficit and the poor jobs and wages for working-class Americans.
The White House has also voiced opposition to Trump’s proposed 10% tariff on imports, saying that it would lead to inflation and higher costs for the average consumer.
“Combining a sweeping tariff tax on the middle class with more trickle-down tax welfare for rich special interests would stifle economic growth and fuel inflation,” Bates said.
Donald Trump Wants A “ring” Around America
Donald Trump describes the idea of a tariff on essentially all imports to the U.S. as a “ring around the U.S. economy”, but such a move would be a significant disruption to the global trade the U.S. is a big part of and could have even far-reaching consequences.
Sources close to the president and who have knowledge of the tariff discussions told the Washington Post that Trump’s economic team are still figuring out how to address the many issues an increase in tariffs would cause.
Outside of Trump’s circles, the criticism of the plan is louder and harsher. Peterson Institute for International Economics President Adam Posen said that it was “lunacy” to impose such a tariff, hurting the United States’ global reputation as a trading partner, and damaging countless U.S. import and export companies.
Tim Ramos has written for various publications, corporations, and organizations – covering everything from finance, politics, travel, entertainment, and sports – in Asia and the U.S. for more than 10 years.
GhostTomahawk
September 13, 2023 at 12:54 pm
Bidens plan… in 10 years maybe you’ll feel some Rx relief and maybe some electric charging stations. His plan completely was about transferring our entire economy into the failed green energy sector.
I don’t like tariffs. I’d rather the US drop sanctions on nations in our hemisphere. Create better trade partnerships! You want to cut taxes… great! Cut them to zero. Eliminate slave payroll tax.
Mike
September 13, 2023 at 1:19 pm
I would be in favor of a flat tax. This would have everyone pay the same tax rate, eliminate deductions and thus reduce the number of people required by the IRS. President Kennedy was in favor of this but sadly his life was taken before he could implement it.
I also would like to see America energy independent again. I don’t understand Biden’s lockdown on American oil production. This has made us vulnerable to our enemies.
Jared S.
September 13, 2023 at 3:12 pm
GhostTomahawk:
Agreed. But Biden isn’t alone in touting good economic numbers but ultimately fails to translate this into benefits ordinary Americans really feel.
Yes to no payroll taxes. The government needs to spend its money better, not keep bleeding hard-working people out of hard-earned money.
Pete G.
September 14, 2023 at 9:09 pm
Yeah, good plan. The tax breaks Trump brought about during his presidency brought us to the inflation today. I don’t trust anything from Trump the 91 felony count, 4 times indicted, two times impeached and filed for bankruptcy 6 times and is only three years younger than Biden and yet he doesn’t remember giving Fausci the Presidential commendation when he was the one who made him a star and gave him the commendation. Yeah impressive resume eh?? He isn’t going to win in 2024. Mark my words.
Harmen Breedeveld
September 16, 2023 at 3:14 pm
The reality is, of course, that the US is borrowing heavily from the future. Leadership should propose raising taxes and reforming aspects of social security, such as raising the age at which social security kicks in and reforming Medicare.
Of course that will never happen. There is no public electoral support for any such changes. Most people also have a limited understanding at best of federal finances.
So the US will keep kicking the can down the road, until there is no longer any road. But, for the foreseeable future there is a lot of road ahead.
Duane
September 17, 2023 at 9:12 am
A tariff is a tax on those who buy the imported products. It is not a tax on those who export – they never pay it.
So Trump wants to impose a massive increase in Federal taxes on American consumers, but claims he’s cutting them. How many times will this tricksterism/hucksterism work with Republican primary voters?
Duane
September 17, 2023 at 9:18 am
Harmen – Wow, you’re quite the piece of work. Gaslighting is your thing, apparently.
Uuhhh, you seem to have your dates far off. The GOP tax cuts were enacted in 2017, and inflation in the US remained below 2% for the remaining 3 years of the Trump administration.
Then Democrats wildly increased spending in 2021 using COVID as their excuse, and had the audacity to name their bill the “Inflation Reduction Act”. Every single Republican voted against it in both House and Senate, and every single Republican warned that enacting their Inflation Creation Act would send inflation skyrocketing. It was only AFTER the Inflation Creation Act was enacted and Federal spending went through the roof that inflation suddenly skyrocketed to record highs.
Don’t try to BS America. We can see with our eyes and hear with our ears, and we feel it every time we pay the rent, buy groceries and gas, and pay through the nose in interest rates on home mortgages and major purchases … and we all know exactly who is responsible for the highest inflation rates in 40+ years – Slow Joe Biden and the Dems.