Trump Wants New Agency To Collect Money From U.S. Importers | EUROtoday

WASHINGTON ― Former and soon-to-be President Donald Trump on Tuesday signaled but once more that he’s critical about imposing a brand new regressive tax on Americans by rising tariffs on imported items ― this time even suggesting a brand new authorities company to gather the cash.

“For far too long, we have relied on taxing our Great People using the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Through soft and pathetically weak Trade agreements, the American Economy has delivered growth and prosperity to the World, while taxing ourselves. It is time for that to change,” Trump wrote in a social media submit.

“I am today announcing that I will create the EXTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE to collect our Tariffs, Duties, and all Revenue that come from Foreign sources,” he went on. “We will begin charging those that make money off of us with Trade, and they will start paying, FINALLY, their fair share. January 20, 2025, will be the birth date of the External Revenue Service. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”

It is unclear why the nation would wish a brand new “External Revenue Service” when U.S. Customs and Border Protection already collects tariffs from importers at ports of entry, and has accomplished so for the reason that delivery of the republic in 1789.

Trump’s transition workforce didn’t reply to HuffPost’s queries about his submit.

Trump has for a few years falsely claimed that U.S. tariffs are paid by overseas nations, when the truth is they’re paid by American importers. Those prices are then handed alongside to retailers and are in the end borne by shoppers.

“He continues to mislead the American people about who pays these tariffs,” stated Douglas Holtz-Eakin, an economist with the conservative suppose tank American Action Forum and a former adviser to Republican John McCain’s 2008 presidential marketing campaign. “I’m underwhelmed by the proposal. It’s just not realistic to fund the government with tariffs.”

During his 2024 marketing campaign, Trump promoted tariffs much more aggressively, steadily citing the Nineties as a golden age for the United States because of the interval’s excessive tariffs. On a number of events, he steered that tariffs may substitute the earnings tax as the principle income supply for the U.S. authorities.

Were that to occur, it might dramatically shift the tax burden away from wealthier Americans and onto the center class and the poor, who spend a a lot bigger proportion of their earnings on imported items and meals.

The federal earnings tax, in distinction, falls most closely on wealthier wage earners. About half of all Americans pay no earnings tax in any respect, though they do pay Social Security and Medicare taxes.

While Trump’s assertion says his “External Revenue Service” would begin on the day of his inauguration, it’s unclear how that might be potential. He has no capability to create a authorities company by fiat, and would wish Congress to go a legislation establishing such an company to take over the duty of amassing tariffs from Customs.

Trump does have a lot broader authority to impose tariffs, nonetheless. While the Constitution provides Congress the facility to levy tariffs, lawmakers have given the president the flexibility to impose tariffs unilaterally on “national security” grounds. Trump used that authority to impose tariffs on overseas aluminum and metal in his first time period.