General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsTrump says he'll eliminate income taxes. There's a problem with that.
But, it makes a great sound bite for the low information voter.
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Were going to make a lot of money, and were going to cut taxes for the people of this country, Trump said before boarding Air Force One for his return from Pope Francis funeral in Rome. Itll take a little while before we do that, but were going to be cutting taxes, and its possible well do a complete tax cut, because I think the tariffs will be enough to cut all of the income tax.
(snip)
To start, tariffs would need to be exceedingly high significantly higher than the already historic levels at which the Trump administration has set them today.
The federal government raises about $3 trillion a year from income taxes. The United States also happens to import around $3 trillion worth of goods annually. So that means tariffs would have to be at least 100% on all imported goods for the levies to replace income taxes, said Torsten Slok, chief economist at Apollo Global Management, in a note to investors.
The United States effective tariff rate now stands at 22.8%, according to Fitch Ratings. So to take the place of income taxes, tariffs would need to be more than four times higher than they are now and Americas new tariff rate is already by far the highest of any developed country and has threatened to plunge the US and global economies into a recession.
But replacing all that tax revenue is not even as simple as doubling the price of everything that comes into America, Slok notes: As prices rise, demand trails off. Thats why Americas largest companies this earnings season have said that Trumps trade policies are raising costs and leading consumers to spend less on practically everything from airline tickets to burritos.
The challenge is that it is unclear what will happen to sales if all imported products double in price, Slok said. Given higher prices result in lower sales, it may require as much as 200% tariffs on all imported goods for the total tariff revenue to replace income taxes.
In other words: To fully replace income taxes, tariffs may need to be set so high that they quadruple the price of everything that comes into the country from abroad.
More
https://www.cnn.com/2025/04/28/business/taxes-trump-tariffs/index.html

Jerry2144
(2,802 posts)Last edited Mon Apr 28, 2025, 06:04 PM - Edit history (1)
For the billionaires
CaliforniaPeggy
(153,644 posts)THE PEOPLE WHO BACK THIS IDIOCY ARE THEMSELVES IDIOTS.
DENVERPOPS
(11,974 posts)getting people to pay for the products with ludicrous price tags resulting from his Tariff's......
He is completely Delusional. Any MD or Cop could take him into custody, and have him taken in for a 72 hour psychiatric hold after hearing anything he says..............SERIOUSLY
I have the credentials - I'll sign the pink slip. He is an obvious danger to others and he appears to meet criteria 4 as well.
DENVERPOPS
(11,974 posts)you lost me.......J.P
kimbutgar
(24,979 posts)Last edited Tue Apr 29, 2025, 08:28 PM - Edit history (1)
Be taken in by law enforcement for Psychiatric care.
I agree FLOTUS needs to be 5150ed!
DENVERPOPS
(11,974 posts)never heard that in my decades as an EMTMedic in a large City.......Maybe it is something new since I retired......
First Lady of the United States??????/
jmowreader
(52,214 posts)It means an involuntary psychiatric hold. Every state has a similar law.
DENVERPOPS
(11,974 posts)we just requested a "Mental Health Hold".................Only a Police Officer, or MD could actually do it.......
dweller
(26,503 posts)Its probably unconstitutional for him to change tax rates and codes and
hes also clinically insane
✌🏻
Callie1979
(665 posts)There are a few things we COULD do that might get a majority of support in the public, but they never seem to do those things.
DENVERPOPS
(11,974 posts)"A STATESMAN IS INTERESTED IN FUTURE GENERATIONS,......A POLITICIAN ONLY IN THE NEXT ELECTION"
Much truer now, than then.........
Hekate
(97,459 posts)I never in my life could have predicted that would (a) be the strategy for overthrow of the USA, or that (b) it would work.
Callie1979
(665 posts)BamaRefugee
(3,801 posts)He has stated over and over again that hes going to bring back so many jobs and so many factories that we will produce EVERYTHING WE NEED.
So if were gonna make every single thing we need, we will import absolutely NOTHING, why would we?
And no imports means no tariffs means once again hes feeding pablum to the poorly educated who are lapping it up like the chocolate fountain at the Golden Corral.
tanyev
(46,234 posts)
BamaRefugee
(3,801 posts)Dave says
(5,107 posts)The low info voter still believes the lies TFG tells about tariffs? The producing nation pays them?
Reminds me of the old George Carlin bit: Think how dumb the average person is; then realize half the nation is dumber than that!
(Not a nice sentiment, it's Carlin's bit, not mine. But given we re-elected TFG, what he says is true. What else can we conclude?)
Hekate
(97,459 posts)It is a regressive tax on those who can least afford it.
Remember what trump said way back when: I love low-information voters!
Conjuay
(2,397 posts)When no one has an income
we won't have to pay income tax!
mdbl
(6,363 posts)How will increasing tariffs help?
Javaman
(63,740 posts)One of the best quotes Ive ever heard regarding taxes is taxes are the entry fee to civilization
Silver Gaia
(5,065 posts)is that people who don't make enough to actually pay taxes WILL BE TAXED by the fucking high prices caused by his ridiculous tariffs.
sakabatou
(44,680 posts)BurnDoubt
(295 posts)And THEN the hue and cry because most of the Red states are being subsidized by the more productive Blue states to some degree.
BurnDoubt
(295 posts)slightlv
(5,425 posts)People are naturally going to hold on to all they can of their money to insure their bills are paid and there's at least some food in the house to eat. There won't be any left for rebuilding, remodeling, replacing anything.. let alone to waste on electronic devices and frivolous "wants." It truly will be a return to the Dark Ages where the meaning of life is just to survive. As that will be the case for 99% of us, throw out Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. Humankind will have to go threw another massive die-off and a new renaissance in order to start to evolve once again. Until then, I fear it'll be close to a Mad Max dystopia, with these militias and new nazi wannabes tearing up everything and everybody... as well as stealing what they can (like the Russian soldiers die when they first crossed into Ukraine and stole everything that wasn't nailed down).
I don't think we'll get the Magas to understand what their lord and savior has in store for them until they're deep into it, themselves. And by then, so the rest of us will be. There's just no shaking their faith in their faux god.
Moostache
(10,474 posts)Thieves trying to steal things from the poor and middle class will find out that those pew-pew sticks and bang-bangs that they love are NOT all in the hands of docile or cucked beta-boys. They will also find out fast and hard that their own ranks are swollen with just that - a bunch of tough-talking, non-acting blow-hards that will be right behind you, ALWAYS behind.
This is not a wlak in the park, game over fight... It is a brass knuckles street fight and gang war and geurilla resistance that will make the VC and NVA lookl like pikers and make Al Queda and Isis seems like amatuers.
These "MAGA" fools have already drunk the Kool-Aid and believed Trump would help them...they are currently finding out that he lies and cannot stop himself from lying more. Some of THOSE people will join the fight AGAINST Trump as well. The idea that theres is some easy button that Trump can push and assume command and dominion over everyone without the mother of all blow-backs consuming him is laughably naive.
William Seger
(11,569 posts)... but that just seems to be so stupid that, if I had to bet, my money would on the deliberate, self-serving lies of a psychopath who has no fear whatsoever of ever being held accountable.
Prof. Toru Tanaka
(2,585 posts)People like Stephen Miller, Peter Navarro and Russell Vought.
And yes, Trump has no fear now of being held accountable for anything thanks to John Roberts and the other MAGAt shitheads on the Supreme Court.
Snarkoleptic
(6,124 posts)and replace the IRS with a regressive sales tax, which is right where they're steering us.
róisín_dubh
(11,995 posts)My plan of filing for an extension until October worked
Cha
(310,183 posts)TY!
C_U_L8R
(47,232 posts)In fact it seems to be the only thing he really knows how to do. And whine. He's very accomplished at that too.
Ping Tung
(2,265 posts)Well, at least, a partially civilized society. Which Don is eliminating with his grandiose stupidity.
subterranean
(3,601 posts)Even if we were to manufacture everything we need domestically and impose massive tariffs on imports, other countries would certainly respond by slapping heavy tariffs on American products, which would make U.S. manufacturers unable to compete globally. All those new factories would have to serve the U.S. market exclusively. It's an idiotic idea that will never happen.
Eugene
(64,716 posts)anyone with 2 working synapses to rub together should that high taxes are deterrent.
D.Rump lives in a land of make-believe.
jmowreader
(52,214 posts)If youre paying 20 percent effective rate right now and 66 percent of your current income goes toward necessities like food, utilities, rent/mortgage, medical and transportation, even if you divert all your remaining income to buying imported goods you do not have enough money available to you to pay tariffs equal to what youre now paying in taxes.
malaise
(283,597 posts)Why do people even quote him?
Hes a cartoon character performing for TV and being used by racists, white supremacists, Christian natuinalists, fascists,women haters, billionaires, bankers, IT folks and then Tom, Dick, Harry and his brother.
Meanwhile he thinks hes an omnipotent emperor but hes an impotent fool.