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Could Trump's tariffs replace the income tax? Here's what economic policy experts say

A truck drives past shipping containers at the Port of Philadelphia, Nov. 6, 2024.
Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images
  • On the campaign trail, President Donald Trump floated an "all tariff policy," which he said would allow the U.S. to eliminate income tax.
  • However, some economic policy experts say there isn't a big enough tax base from imported goods to replace revenue from individual income taxes.
  • "It's just not a realistic proposal," said Alex Durante, senior economist at the Tax Foundation.

As President Donald Trump begins on imported goods, some experts question his revenue expectations — including the possibility of replacing the . 

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During his presidential campaign, Trump floated an "all tariff policy" at a June meeting with Republican lawmakers, where he said the plan would allow the U.S. to .

Some policy experts have been skeptical of the idea.  

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"It's just not a realistic proposal," said Alex Durante, senior economist at the Tax Foundation, which in June.  

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While were a major source of federal revenue during the 19th century, U.S. spending levels have since increased significantly, Durante said.

The U.S. federal government in 2023 spent 22.7% of its gross domestic product, which is about 10 times the share of the economy compared with when tariffs were a primary source of revenue, according to the Tax Foundation analysis. 

"You can't have 21st century government spending with a 19th century tax system," Durante said.

'The math doesn't work'

Over the past 70 years, tariffs haven't accounted for much more than annually, according to the Congressional Research Service.

During fiscal year 2024, U.S. Customs and Border Protection collected $77 billion in tariffs, which was roughly 1.57% of total federal revenue, the organization reported. 

However, the bigger issue is the relative size of the tax base from tariffs, compared with individuals paying income tax, according to the Tax Foundation analysis.  

The Trump administration did not respond to C온라인카지노사이트's request for comment.

"The math doesn't work," wrote Erica York, vice president of federal tax policy with the Tax Foundation's Center for Federal Tax Policy.   

During tax year 2021, the IRS from individual taxpayers, the latest IRS data shows. Replacing that would require "astronomically high tariff rates," York wrote.

Plus, several factors, including noncompliance and , could reduce the amount of tariff revenue collected.  

"Tariff rates would have to be implausibly high on such a small base of imports to replace the income tax," wrote Kimberly Clausing and Maurice Obstfeld, fellows at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, who co-authored a on the topic. 

"As tax rates rose, the base itself would shrink as imports fall, making Trump's $2 trillion goal unattainable," they wrote. 

Trump on Saturday signed orders to on imports from Canada and Mexico, along with a 10% additional duty on goods from China. He warned Sunday that the .   

The policy was uncertain Monday after Trump agreed to pause tariffs for at least and . Meanwhile, China on Tuesday imposed on select U.S. imports.

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