Ex-President Donald Trump — who paid little to no income taxes over a decade — is now suggesting to do away with income taxes entirely. But there’s a catch.
What Happened: Trump pitched an “all tariff policy” plan to eliminate the U.S. income tax during a meeting with Republican lawmakers, CNBC reported.
The meeting took place at the Capitol Hill Club in Washington, D.C. It was Trump’s first time on Capitol Hill since Jan. 6, 2021, when his supporters caused a riot.
The twice-impeached former Commander-in-Chief says tariffs will help gain negotiating leverage over international “bad actors,” reflecting his protectionist trade agenda from his first term.
Trump later posted on Truth Social, stating the meeting was “all positive” without providing further details.
Why It Matters: Critics quickly condemned Trump’s idea, citing how it would surely benefit the wealthy and burden low-income households with higher prices on goods.
New York University law professor David Kamin outlined how the plan would “hit hard low- and middle-income Americans and reward top.”
See below.
Then there’s Washington Post columnist Catherine Rampell. On X, Rampell pointed out how such a plan could result in a significant tax increase for lower- and middle-income groups as many currently pay no federal income taxes.
“Trump’s tax agenda amounted to tax cuts for the rich but tax increases for the bottom [approximate] 80% of households,” Rampell wrote in a thread on X.
“Presumably they would have to pay Trump’s proposed tariffs though. So this sounds like a huge tax increase on the lower/middle income classes,” Rampell said.
Former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers also warned that Trump's overall economic agenda would lead to a rapid increase in inflation and mortgage rates.
Such a result would affect the entire economy negatively.
It’s worth noting that Trump has long touted that he was “smart” for not paying his taxes. Records from 2020 show he paid $750 in federal income taxes in 2016 — the year he won the presidency.
He also paid just $750 in 2017. In 10 of the previous 15 years before his presidency, he had paid zero income taxes. Trump reported losing much more money than he made.
New York AG Letitia James won a civil fraud lawsuit against Trump for falsely inflating his net worth to score tax benefits.
Trump’s visit to Capitol Hill included meetings with GOP lawmakers. He also met with some of the wealthiest individuals in finance: Blackstone CEO Steve Schwarzman, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, Carlyle Group CEO Harvey Schwartz and AT&T CEO John Stankey, among others.
Image: Shutterstock
This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors
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