Would Trump raise taxes on the rich? Raising taxes on the rich, or anyone else for that matter, is one of those things that has long been verboten for politicians in the Republican Party.
It dates back, mostly to President George Bush agreeing, in 1990, to a deal with Democrats in Congress to raise the marginal tax rate from 28 percent to 31 percent.
This went against Bush’s “read my lips, no new taxes” pledge from his 1988 campaign, and caused him to take a hit.
In addition to that pledge, made in a Republican convention speech in 1988, Bush had signed and therefore broken the “Taxpayer Protection Pledge” from Grover Norquist’s group Americans for Tax Reform, and it soon became nearly mandatory for Republican candidates and officials to sign that pledge to never support tax increases.
It therefore became somewhat taboo for Republicans to ever support raising taxes, with Bush’s son, George W. Bush, much more associated with tax cuts during his presidency.
Does the Pledge Still Matter?
The question has been raised, including by Punchbowl News last June, of whether the Taxpayer Protection Pledge still matters as much as it once did. At the time, Republicans in Congress were calling for a fiscal commission, which Americans for Tax Reform opposed, believing it would lead to tax increases.
Has Donald Trump himself signed the Taxpayer Protection Pledge? That’s not clear, although Norquist complained, in the closing weeks of the 2016 campaign, that he hadn’t yet at that time.
Trump is certainly no fan of raising taxes, and he cut taxes in his first term, with the fate of those tax cuts a big part of the present negotiations. But Trump is also not fond of doing things that make him beholden to other people. And it’s clear, by this point, that Republican elected officials are much more beholden to Trump than they ever were to Grover Norquist.
A Millionaire’s Tax by Donald Trump?
There have, of late, been whispers that Trump could back a new tax on millionaires.
The Washington Post reported this week that Trump’s inner circle is considering the possibility of proposing higher taxes on those earning more than $1 million per year, with both Vice President J.D. Vance and the budget director Russell Vought reportedly open to the idea.
Vance, ATR touted last year, signed the Taxpayer Protection Pledge when he ran for the U.S. Senate. A willingness to raise taxes on millionaires would throw a new wrench into ongoing negotiations in Congress over the budget, where a tax increase could potentially help to reduce the deficit.
Steve Bannon, the former Trump adviser who is outside the administration, is also all for the idea, which would seem to flow naturally from Trump
The idea, however, has been met with “a largely chilly reception among Republicans on Capitol Hill,” with Republican veterans of past tax wars, like Stephen Moore, also strongly opposed.
WSJ vs. Taxes
Kimberly Strassel, a pro-Trump Wall Street Journal columnist, tried to nip the proposal in the bud last week, characterizing the tax hike push as “staffers scheming to undercut his signature tax reform—by ‘managing’ him into surrendering to the left’s favorite talking point.”
Strassel went on to criticize “class-warfare populists who find Mr. Trump’s instinct for pro-growth tax policy tiresome.”
Trump has proposed, in the past, that new income from tariffs could eventually replace revenue from the income tax, but like most aspects of Trump’s tariff gambit, it doesn’t appear things have worked out that way.
Trump Says No
At any rate, the president made it clear this week that he opposes the tax increase proposal.
“I think it would be very disruptive because a lot of millionaires would leave the country,” Trump told reporters in an Oval Office press availability on April 23. “You’ll lose a lot of money if you do that.”
About the Author: Stephen Silver
Stephen Silver is an award-winning journalist, essayist and film critic, and contributor to the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Broad Street Review and Splice Today. The co-founder of the Philadelphia Film Critics Circle, Stephen lives in suburban Philadelphia with his wife and two sons. For over a decade, Stephen has authored thousands of articles that focus on politics, technology, and the economy. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) at @StephenSilver, and subscribe to his Substack newsletter
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