Topline
President Donald Trump said he supports raising taxes on the wealthy to pay for other cuts in his signature economic package, as congressional Republicans have struggled to find ways to offset the spending reductions without slashing entitlement programs.
President Donald Trump makes a trade announcement in the Oval Office of the White House in … More
Key Facts
Trump said Republicans “should probably not” increase taxes on the rich, but he’s “OK if they do” in a Friday Truth Social post, expressing concerns that Democrats could claim the move amounts to a broken promise.
Trump said he and other wealthy people “would graciously accept” a tax increase “in order to help the lower and middle income workers.”
The president made the statement a day after reports he pushed for the tax increase in a phone call Wednesday with House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La.
Trump suggested to Johnson taxing individuals making more than $2.5 million per year and couples earning above $5 million at a rate of 39.6%, multiple outlets reported, citing unnamed sources familiar with the discussion.
In the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, Trump set a 37% tax rate for top earners making above $626,350.
Tangent
Trump said in the Friday Truth Social post he worried that raising taxes on the wealthy could lead to political backlash akin to that surrounding former President George Bush’s famed “read my lips: no new taxes” quote. Bush’s 1990 budget included some gimmicks, including new fees and levies, that weren’t exactly defined as taxes, to pay for cuts, leading to claims he broke the “no new taxes” promise made during his campaign.
Big Number
$67.3 billion. That’s how much the new tax on top earners could raise over the next 10 years, according to a preliminary estimate from the nonpartisan Tax Foundation cited by Bloomberg.
Key Background
The 37% tax rate on top earners is set to expire at the end of the year if Congress does not renew Trump’s 2017 cuts. At the same time, Republicans will likely be forced to make some cuts to Medicaid under the Republican budget plan passed in February. Doing so without reducing taxes on the wealthy could create an optics issue for Republicans as Medicare and Medicaid are widely popular among voters in both parties. Trump’s economic plan calls for a total of $4.5 trillion in tax cuts over the next decade and directs the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which oversees Medicaid, to find $880 billion in cuts. Some Republicans have openly acknowledged it’s virtually impossible to make those reductions without touching Medicaid—a program Trump has repeatedly promised will be fully reserved.
Further Reading
Was Medicaid Cut? Will Tips Be Taxed? What To Know About Trump’s Budget Bill (Forbes)
Medicaid Cuts Threaten A Key House Vote On Trump’s Agenda Today—Here’s Why The GOP Is Divided (Forbes)
House Passes Budget Bill: Trump Touts ‘Big First Step’ For Mike Johnson (Forbes)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/saradorn/2025/05/09/trump-says-hes-ok-with-raising-taxes-on-wealthy/