CNN
—
President Donald Trump said he’s open to hiking taxes on wealthy Americans to help pay for Republicans’ sweeping tax and spending cuts package, but the idea remains hotly contested among GOP lawmakers on Capitol Hill.
In a Truth Social post Friday morning, Trump said that he would “graciously accept” even a “TINY” tax increase on the rich, while acknowledging that that it could bring political risks for Republicans. House GOP lawmakers have been struggling to find $1.5 trillion in spending cuts to help offset trillions of dollars of tax reductions.
“The problem with even a ‘TINY’ tax increase for the RICH, which I and all others would graciously accept in order to help the lower and middle income workers, is that the Radical Left Democrat Lunatics would go around screaming, ‘Read my lips,’ the fabled Quote by George Bush the Elder that is said to have cost him the Election. NO, Ross Perot cost him the Election!” Trump wrote.
“In any event, Republicans should probably not do it, but I’m OK if they do!!!” he continued.
This is not the first time Trump has indicated that he supports raising taxes on the wealthy, even though throughout last year’s presidential campaign, he repeatedly promised to cut their taxes. The president recently told Time magazine, “I actually love the concept,” when asked about a proposal circulating to raise taxes for those earning more than $1 million a year.
The idea, however, is not being warmly embraced among the House GOP and is far from guaranteed to make it into the president’s final “one big beautiful” bill, which aims to make permanent the sweeping Trump 2017 tax cuts and incorporate the president’s campaign promises to eliminate taxes on tips and certain other income.
Just extending the 2017 individual tax provisions – which expire at the end of this year – could cost more than $4 trillion. Republican lawmakers are also fractured on how deeply they’d have to cut spending – including on Medicaid and food stamps – to meet their targets.
Within the House Ways and Means Committee, members have discussed two ideas. One is to let the tax breaks for the richest Americans expire, returning their top income tax rate to 39.6% – which is what it was before Trump’s 2017 tax overhaul – from the current 37%. This has drawn some criticism, however, as some Republicans fear it could impact small business owners. But it would cut about $409 billion of the cost, according to the Tax Foundation, a right-leaning think tank.
Another idea is to create a brand-new tax bracket for the wealthy – targeting individuals who earn at least $2.5 million or couples that make at least $5 million. The proposal, though limited in scope, could contribute to offsetting costly tax provisions, such as restoring the state and local tax deduction – known as SALT – that has become another flashpoint in Congress’ tax debate.
The new tax bracket would raise about $59.3 billion over a decade, according to the Tax Foundation. And it would affect between 150,000 and 200,000 households.
Despite Trump’s apparent openness to raising taxes on the wealthy, his economic adviser said Friday that the president “is not a strong advocate” for the idea.
Asked whether Trump is seriously considering taxing the rich to pay for his budget bill, National Economic Director Kevin Hassett said: “The president is not a strong advocate of that, but he is a strong advocate of many things like no tax on tips, no tax on overtime, and nice treatment for auto loans.”
“He has cited his priorities, and he understands that in the end, the final bill will include some priorities of members of the House of the Senate. That’s how the democratic process works, and that’s really what this conversation is about.”
When asked how the White House expects to pay for the bill, given a number of its stated priorities are expensive, Hassett argued Congress has already identified clear areas for cuts, without detailing what they are and whether they are achievable.
“Well, the budget rules in the House and the Senate are very clearly identified that include spending cuts and so on, and they don’t include dynamic scores,” he told CNN. “And so in the fullest of time with the spending cuts that we’re achieving ,and the dynamic score of the tax bill, we’re highly confident that we’re going to reduce the deficit that make bond markets celebrate.”
House Ways and Means Chairman Jason Smith is expected to meet with Trump at the White House on Friday, and Hassett earlier told CNBC that he expects Smith will outline the House’s schedule for the tax bill at some point during the day.
Hassett has been meeting almost weekly with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, House Speaker Mike Johnson and others regarding Congress’ budget. Earlier this week, the group met in the Roosevelt Room of the White House.
CNN’s Alejandra Jaramillo contributed to this report.
