Donald Trump's idea to eliminate the federal income tax by creating an "all tariff policy" should he win the November election would likely further burden lower- and middle-income Americans, an expert told , while favoring higher-income individuals. The embattled former president and presidential candidate reportedly floated the idea during a private meeting last week, sources told CNBC, which first reported on the story. Addressing Republican lawmakers at the Capitol Hill Club in Washington, D.
C., on June 13, Trump talked about imposing an "all tariff policy" that would ultimately allow the country to eliminate the income tax entirely, while also suggesting using tariffs as leverage during negotiations with bad actors. Assaf Harpaz, and assistant professor at the University of Georgia School of Law, told that replacing the federal income tax with an "all tariff policy" as suggested by Trump is an idea that raises several practical and theoretical questions.
"In addition to the legislative task of overhauling the Internal Revenue Code, it is difficult to envision how tariffs could completely replace the revenue from federal income taxes," Harpaz told . "In 2023, the federal government collected over $2 trillion from individual income taxes, alone," he explained. "Moreover, foreign governments may levy punitive tariffs in response to the policy, and increased costs would presumably roll over to individual taxpayers.
" That, for Harpaz, is the biggest issue. "The policy, if impl.
