Former President Donald Trump is piling up the tax cut proposals as he seeks to win votes from the likes of service workers in Nevada and Social Security recipients in Florida, and the price tag of his growing list is soaring, topping $11 trillion at last count.
According to an overview at Bloomberg, that tally includes extending the tax cuts he signed into law in 2017 (at a cost of $4.3 trillion over 10 years), a larger child tax credit ($3 trillion), no taxes on overtime pay ($1.5 trillion), no taxes on Social Security benefits ($1.2 trillion) and a big reduction in the corporate tax rate ($600 billion).
Trump reiterated some elements of his plan Tuesday, when he told supporters in Savannah, Georgia, that he wants to slash taxes for corporations that make products in the U.S., while punishing those that import goods from overseas with high tariffs. He provided no details on how that would work, though, so it’s hard to put a price tag on what the Washington Post’s Jeff Stein called “vague protectionist economic promises.”
Aside from the startling cost of some of his proposals, economists are divided over whether they are good ideas. Stephen Moore, a senior fellow at the Heritage Foundation who advises Trump, told Bloomberg that the Republican nominee is looking for ways to win over working-class voters. “Some of the ideas are good. Some of the ideas are not so good,” Moore said. “On balance, most of the ideas are good.”
But Erica York of the conservative Tax Foundation said that while the proposals may make sense politically, they are less compelling economically. “Principles of sound tax policy, economics — that’s no longer in the driver’s seat,” she told Bloomberg. “Politics is in the driver’s seat. That’s why we’re seeing carve-outs and things that sound good on the campaign trail.”
According to an overview at Bloomberg, that tally includes extending the tax cuts he signed into law in 2017 (at a cost of $4.3 trillion over 10 years), a larger child tax credit ($3 trillion), no taxes on overtime pay ($1.5 trillion), no taxes on Social Security benefits ($1.2 trillion) and a big reduction in the corporate tax rate ($600 billion).
Trump reiterated some elements of his plan Tuesday, when he told supporters in Savannah, Georgia, that he wants to slash taxes for corporations that make products in the U.S., while punishing those that import goods from overseas with high tariffs. He provided no details on how that would work, though, so it’s hard to put a price tag on what the Washington Post’s Jeff Stein called “vague protectionist economic promises.”
Aside from the startling cost of some of his proposals, economists are divided over whether they are good ideas. Stephen Moore, a senior fellow at the Heritage Foundation who advises Trump, told Bloomberg that the Republican nominee is looking for ways to win over working-class voters. “Some of the ideas are good. Some of the ideas are not so good,” Moore said. “On balance, most of the ideas are good.”
But Erica York of the conservative Tax Foundation said that while the proposals may make sense politically, they are less compelling economically. “Principles of sound tax policy, economics — that’s no longer in the driver’s seat,” she told Bloomberg. “Politics is in the driver’s seat. That’s why we’re seeing carve-outs and things that sound good on the campaign trail.”
