U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said that President Donald Trump wants to eliminate taxes for individuals earning less than $150,000 per year.
What Happened: Lutnick, in a CBS News interview on Tuesday, shared Trump’s tax objective. “I know what his (Trump's) goal is... no tax, for anybody who makes less than $150,000 a year. That's his goal. That's what I'm working for,” Lutnick said.
Trump’s tax strategy also aims to abolish taxes on tips and overtime and implement significant reductions to individual and corporate taxes. Lutnick suggested that the deficit arising from these tax cuts could be compensated by curbing overseas tax frauds, which he believes are causing a loss of revenue to the U.S.
Lutnick also pointed out a proposed $5 million U.S. visa as a potential source of additional fiscal revenue. Trump’s comprehensive fiscal plan, including $4.5 trillion in tax cuts, was approved by the Republican-led House of Representatives in February and is now awaiting a Senate vote.
While advocating for tax cuts, Trump is also striving to decrease government expenditure and the nation’s fiscal deficit, shared Lutnick. However, these actions have sparked controversy, especially the large-scale layoffs of federal employees across various agencies.
Supporting Trump’s tariff stance, Lutnick explained that the President views industries such as steel and aluminum, pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, and automobiles as vital to the U.S. economy and aims to promote their domestic development, instead of depending on other countries.
“We’ve got to have a steel and aluminum industry here in America to protect us for National Security right you can’t be
at a war and not make steel you can’t have some other country supply your steel if God forbid you need it for a war,” said the Commerce Secretary. Lutnick also stated that the tariffs will not lead to an inflationary situation.
Why It Matters: Trump’s tax proposal aligns with his goal of abolishing the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and shifting the tax burden to “outsiders,” as stated by the Commerce Secretary in February,
However, Lutnick’s justification of Trump’s tariff strategy has met with skepticism. Last week, billionaire investor Mark Cuban criticized Lutnick’s optimism about the benefits of tariffs and Trump’s trade war on the U.S. manufacturing sector. Cuban emphasized the importance of a service-oriented economy and the U.S.’s global tech dominance, instead.
