Trump Wants to Raise Americans’ Taxes by $1,700

Once upon a time (eight years ago) practically every Republican running for federal office had to sign a pledge to never raise taxes. Well, that went right out the window along with most of the rest of the traditional Republican Party platform with the election of Donald Trump, who now wants to increase Americans’ annual taxes by as much as $1,700.

Brace yourself for some riveting tax policy 101. Tariffs are taxes on imported goods. The government levies them to raise revenue and protect domestic industries. When utilized intelligently, they can be a precision tool used for delicate operations—think a scalpel on a surgeon’s table. Trump, however, wants to walk into that same operating room with a sledgehammer.

Former President and current manifestation of all Seven Deadly Sins Donald Trump pledged to raise tariffs on all imports by 10%. That means every Taiwanese computer chip, every Bangladeshi shirt, every Canadian barrel of oil, every Mexican tomato—basically everything Americans consume on a daily basis—would become at least 10% more expensive. And that’s before you include the 60% tariffs Trump wants to levy on all imports from China, the United States’ largest trading partner.

Economists across the political spectrum from the Libertarian CATO Institute to the Liberal Center for American Progress agree that this would be a disastrous policy. Americans could expect to experience a 3.5% reduction in their after-tax income as a direct result of these proposed tariffs equivalent to between $1,500 and $1,700. This $300 billion tax hike would also shrink the U.S. economy by 0.7% and eliminate 505,000 jobs. Lower and middle-income folks would take the biggest financial hit because they spend a higher percentage of their income on consumer goods like groceries.

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