Trump and Johnson Dismiss Proposal to Increase Top Marginal Tax Rates
When asked if such a proposal could find its way into the Republicans’ ultimate funding package, House Speaker Mike Johnson replied, ‘I wouldn’t anticipate that.’
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) expressed that he does not foresee Republicans considering a tax hike for the wealthiest Americans, putting an end to ongoing speculation that the top marginal tax rates might be raised under the GOP budget outline.
President Donald Trump has also conveyed his disinterest in further pursuing the proposal during remarks made to the press from the Oval Office.
In an April 23 interview with Johnson, Fox News anchor Will Cain referenced reports suggesting that Trump was contemplating raising top marginal tax rates to around 39 or 40 percent to fulfill his campaign pledge of “No taxes on tips.”
“I am not supportive of raising tax rates since our party stands against that,” Johnson mentioned, though he acknowledged that the idea had been circulated as one of the numerous methods to make personal income tax cuts permanent in the final package.
“Numerous ideas have been discussed during this process over the past year, but my advice to everyone is to just wait and see,” Johnson added.
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“You know, in the past, they would leave states. They would move from one state to another. Now … they leave countries. You lose a significant amount of money if that occurs,” Trump expressed.
As part of the reconciliation process being utilized to pass the extensive package—which will include funding for border and immigration enforcement, energy, and defense, in addition to tax policy—Senate Republicans aim to make the tax cuts implemented in Trump’s 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act permanent.
They are also exploring ways to fund Trump’s no tax on tips initiative.
The Byrd Rule of the reconciliation process mandates that any policy impacting the federal deficit after ten years must be sunset unless its costs are offset by other measures.
“We’ve discussed various scenarios. That is one option,” Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) informed The Epoch Times on April 3.
“That has been mentioned. There are many options; lowering the rate has also been brought up,” remarked Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla).
With both Trump and Johnson firmly opposing this proposal, senators will likely explore different avenues to establish permanence for the cuts.
Arjun Singh contributed to this report.
