WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump appeared to rule out a proposal to raise taxes on millionaires, arguing they would flee the country over the policy.
“I think it would be very disruptive because a lot of millionaires would leave the country,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on April 23. “You’ll lose a lot of money if you do that.”
Trump allies such as Steve Bannon have supported raising taxes on the rich, but the president hadn’t taken a position. Trump has suggested tariffs could potentially replace the income tax, even though economists warn that tariffs raise far less revenue and fall harder on lower-income households.
The president’s comments came at the start of contentious negotiations with Congress over how much to spend on the federal government.
Trump made tax cuts a centerpiece of his campaign, with proposals to eliminate taxes on tips and Social Security benefits, but it will cost trillions of dollars to extend tax cuts from his first administration even before adding his new proposals.
Congressional Democrats have argued Trump’s tax-cut plans are targeted to benefit the rich disproportionately while cutting government spending for working-class people.
“President Trump and congressional Republicans are raising costs for working people, taking away their health insurance, and threatening seniors’ hard-earned Social Security benefits, all while pursuing a multi-trillion-dollar tax cut for the wealthy and claiming it should be free,” Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer of New York and two others wrote to Senate Republican Leader John Thune of South Dakota.
Most Americans now express little or no confidence in how President Donald Trump is handling the economy, a Pew Research Center survey shows. Nearly six in 10 disapprove of the tariffs he has imposed, and their predictions about what’s ahead in the economy have darkened.The stock market and dollar have each tumbled on Trump’s tariff policies and insults about Jerome Powell, the head of the Federal Reserve. But Trump said April 22 he didn’t intend to fire Powell.
Trump reiterated his call April 23 for the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates, which would be expected to spur economic growth. But he said he hasn’t spoken to Powell.
“I haven’t called him,” Trump said. “I might call him.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump rejects possibility of raising taxes on millionaires
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