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Trump Suggests He’s Open to Eliminating Income Taxes

Charlie Kirk Staff

01/29/2025

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Trump Suggests He’s Open to Eliminating Income Taxes

President Donald Trump is continuing his aggressive push to dismantle the entrenched Washington, D.C., bureaucracy and challenge the long-standing “uniparty” mindset that has dominated the nation’s capital for decades.

On Monday, Trump proposed a dramatic shift in federal revenue policy, suggesting the complete elimination of income taxes in favor of a tariff-based system—similar to how the U.S. government was funded before the early 20th century.

Throughout his campaign, Trump advocated for reducing reliance on income-based taxation. He specifically called for eliminating taxes on tips, overtime pay, and Social Security benefits, reinforcing his broader vision of tax reform aimed at putting more money back in the pockets of American workers.

Speaking to Republican members of Congress at his Doral resort in Miami, Florida, Trump said, “America is going to be very rich again, and it’s going to happen very quickly.” He added: “It’s time for the United States to return to the system that made us richer and more powerful than ever before.”

The president explained that from 1870 to 1913, the federal government was primarily funded by tariffs, and “it was the richest period in the history of the United States.”

The Sixteenth Amendment, ratified in 1913, granted the federal government the authority to levy income taxes. This came after a Supreme Court ruling in 1895 struck down a previous congressional attempt to implement such a tax. Notably, while the Constitution permits Congress to impose an income tax, it does not mandate one.

Trump argued Monday, “Instead of taxing our citizens to enrich foreign nations, we should be tariffing and taxing foreign nations to enrich our citizens.”

rump did not explicitly call for the complete elimination of income taxes, he strongly suggested that this is his ultimate objective. He has advocated for tariffs as an alternative revenue source, which are taxes imposed on imported goods, with importers paying these fees directly to the federal government.

During his first term, Trump imposed tariffs on a variety of Chinese products, with rates reaching as high as 25%. After taking office, President Joe Biden chose to maintain these tariffs. According to the Tax Foundation, as of March 2024, these tariffs had generated $233 billion in revenue since their implementation in 2018.

Proponents of a tariff-based system—or a hybrid model with significantly reduced income taxes—argue that a leaner federal revenue stream would force lawmakers to drastically cut government spending, reducing the size and scope of federal programs.

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Charlie Kirk is the Founder and President of Turning Point USA, a national student movement dedicated to empowering young people to promote the principles of free markets and limited government.

Charlie is also the host of “The Charlie Kirk Show” podcast, which regularly ranks among the top-10 news shows on Apple podcast news charts, and is the host of the nationally syndicated daily radio show on the Salem Radio Network live from 12 - 3 PM ET.
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