President Trump shot down the idea of hiking the tax rate for people with the highest income levels on Wednesday, shutting the door on a possible pay-for that Republicans had floated for their tax cut and spending package.
The 2017 Trump tax cuts, which Republicans are seeking to extend this year, slashed most income tax levels and brought the top tax rate down to 37 percent from 39.6 percent.
Trump said Wednesday that allowing it to go back up – which would amount to letting the current tax rate expire at the end of this year – would cause millionaires to leave the country.
“I think it would be very disruptive because a lot of the millionaires would leave the country. You know, in the old days they left states. They’d go from one state to the other. Now with transportation so quick and so easy, they leave countries,” Trump said.
Trump has floated a number of tax cuts geared toward working people, and some commentators have remarked that the fact that the GOP was even considering a tax hike for the rich indicates an ongoing shift in the party’s base.
Trump’s additional tax proposals include doing away with taxes on tips and overtime pay, starting a new credit for family caregivers, and deducting auto loan interest payments.
— Tobias Burns
