(Grover Norquist | Americans for Tax Reform) – President Trump has warned the GOP against a tax rate hike. Trump said:
“George Bush said, ‘READ MY LIPS, NO NEW TAXES,’ then proceeded to give a rather small Tax increase, and was obliterated. While I love the idea of a small increase, the Democrats would probably use it against us, and we would be, like Bush, helpless to do anything about it! So if you can do without it, you’re probably better off trying to do so. We don’t need to be the ‘READ MY LIPS’ gang who lost an Election, for no reason!”
According to beltway media, some moderate — and spinelessly anonymous — staffers were trying to convince President Trump to break his central tax promise to make the Trump tax cuts permanent across the board.
Let’s take a look at President Trump’s campaign promise to the American people:
- “We are seeking permanent income tax cuts all across the board.”
- “I will make the Trump tax cuts permanent.”
- “I’ll give you a Trump middle class, upper class, lower class, business class big tax cut.”
- “I hope the House and Senate are able to agree on making the Tax Cuts PERMANENT.”
Since March 28, the aforementioned anonymous staffers kept trying to gin up support for an income tax rate hike. They wanted a 40% top tax rate.
But the tax rate hike to 40% is an idea proposed by Kamala Harris last year. President Trump defeated Kamala Harris in the election and President Trump rightly criticized her for the 40% tax rate idea.
No Republican campaigned on a tax rate hike and there’s no reason to adopt Kamala’s tax rate hike.
Trump is keenly aware of the damage done by President George H.W. Bush’s “Read my lips” 1990 tax increase. Trump spoke of it several times while challenging and dethroning the Bush dynasty.
Not only did Bill Clinton run constant national ads against Bush for breaking his tax promise, Clinton STILL accused Bush of wanting to “cut taxes for the rich.”
Back to the present day: The rumored tax rate hike idea pushed by anonymous staffers did not go over well with conservatives on and off the hill:
Ninety Small and Mid-Sized Manufacturing, Machinist, Builders and Contractors Groups: “As long-time Main Street champions, we encourage you to stand strong and oppose any effort to increase income tax rates, including recent proposals to raise the top individual rate to 40 percent.”
SENATOR TED CRUZ: “I think it is a mistake to raise taxes, and I don’t believe Republicans are going to do that.”
House Speaker MIKE JOHNSON: Asked if he supports a tax rate increase, Johnson said: “I’m never for increasing taxes, ever.”
Speaker JOHNSON also said: “I mean we are the Republican party and we are for tax reduction for everyone.”
House Majority Leader STEVE SCALISE: Asked if he supports a tax rate increase, Scalise said: “No. No. No.”
House Majority Whip TOM EMMER: Asked if he supports a tax rate increase, Emmer said:“hahhahahahha no.”
Trump ally LARRY KUDLOW on a tax rate hike: “This would be among the top three dumbest things I’ve ever heard.”
KUDLOW also said: “Small business pays the top income tax rate. So if these guilt-ridden Republicans in the White House and Capitol Hill — who think they are such political geniuses and really aren’t — if they think they are penalizing wealthy people, they might take a more careful look at the tax code and realize they would actually be punishing small businesses and wholly owned family enterprises. How stupid would that be? It would be plenty stupid.”
SENATOR DAVID MCCORMICK (R-Pa.): “We’ve got to reel in the spending,” McCormick said. “That’s going to require some tough choices. But we can’t do that by raising taxes, which slows the economy and hurts working families.”
Trump ally NEWT GINGRICH on the idea of a tax rate increase: “That would be madness and would defeat the bill.”
GINGRICH also said: “Speaker Mike Johnson and other Republicans must remain vigilant against any effort by misguided members to raise tax rates in the final bill. This is historically important and could have huge political consequences.”
Americans for Tax Reform President GROVER NORQUIST: “President Trump is not going to allow the top rate for income taxes to be increased. That is a direct hit on small businesses.” “There was a letter that went to the hill from 90 trade associations that represent small businesses pointing out that Sub-chapter S corporations that pay through the individual rate would be badly hit. You read the list: This is a list of MAGA-supporting industries. The national roofing contractors, the precision metal formers, the association of builders and contractors, heating, air conditioning and refrigeration. These are the people who make America work. President Trump is not going to get talked into” a tax rate increase.
ART LAFFER: “That we are even talking about a tax rate increase on the top income earners is silly. Can you imagine that conversation appearing a month ago. It makes no sense whatsoever. Trump doesn’t want to raise the highest tax rates.”
DEROY MURDOCK: “Such a GOP-sponsored tax increase would be an excellent tool — provided that Republicans wish to splinter their ranks, sink President Donald J. Trump’s Big, Beautiful Bill, slow the economy, and sandbag themselves in the 2026 midterm elections.”
KIM STRASSEL: “It’s a grave disservice to Mr. Trump politically and economically. For starters, Mr. Trump during last year’s campaign promised dozens of times some variation on ‘permanent income-tax cuts all across the board.’ It’s a feckless team that attempts to maneuver a president into a George H.W. Bush ‘read my lips’ moment. Mr. Trump won the election in no small part because voters believed he would do what he said.”
Independent Women’s Forum Chairman HEATHER HIGGINS:“We do not have a revenue problem, we have a serious spending problem. Any discussion of hiking tax rates is counterproductive to solving the real problem.”
Senator JOHN KENNEDY (R-La.): “I’m not a big believer in envy taxes. I don’t believe in making tax policy on the basis of class warfare.”
Congresswoman ELISE STEFANIK: “We do not support raising taxes. The Republican Party stands for cutting taxes. President Trump supports cutting taxes; he has said that in rallies all across the country.”
Congressman TIM MOORE (R-N.C.): “I do have some concerns though about this talk of adding additional tax increases. I don’t think that’s appropriate. I believe frankly that we have a spending problem and not a tax problem.”
Congressman BUDDY CARTER (R-Ga.): “Look, we can do this without raising taxes on anyone.”
Job Creators Network CEO ALFREDO ORTIZ: “Raising taxes on successful small business pass-throughs is a terrible idea, and it would threaten Trump’s Main Street resurgence. Republicans should take advantage of their Congressional majority to extend and expand the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act for everyone, including the most successful small businesses and individuals.”
House Ways and Means Chairman JASON SMITH: “The way you provide tax relief is, you cut tax rates.”
Heritage Foundation Visiting Senior Fellow and Trump ally STEVE MOORE: Noting that American small businesses would bear the burden of a tax rate hike, Moore said: “That would have an incredibly negative effect on the economy. Those are the job producers.” “These are the people who create the jobs in America — we are going to raise their taxes, Republicans are? Come on, guys, we do not raise tax rates.”
STEVE MOORE also said: “Raising the business or personal tax rates ensures a civil war on the right. Conservatives will then be routed in the midterm elections – and they would deserve it. So don’t go there. You’re playing right into the hands of Chuck Schumer and AOC.”
Club for Growth Vice President of Government Affairs SCOTT PARKINSON: “Club for Growth does not believe a bill can pass the House of Representatives if the top rate is increased from 37% to the Obama-era rate, 39.6%.”
Club for Growth President DAVID MCINTOSH: “Keeping the top rate at 37% is a red-line and Club for Growth will issue a key-vote alert to Members of Congress opposed to any legislation that attempts to increase the top individual marginal tax rate by any amount.”
American Commitment President PHIL KERPEN: “Putting a hike in the top income tax rate into what everybody thought be the Trump tax CUT bill is absolute madness. Not only would it destroy the Republican brand, but it would risk collapsing the bill and letting taxes go up on everyone. And for what? It would raise little or no revenue. It’s a trap.“
Center for a Free Economy President RYAN ELLIS: Regarding the prospect of a tax rate hike passing a GOP congress: “Ain’t gonna happen. Any bill which has a top marginal personal income tax rate north of 37 percent would fail in either the U.S. House of Representatives or the U.S. Senate.”
NATIONAL REVIEW EDITORIAL: “If this is a trial balloon, it doesn’t even deserve to achieve enough altitude to get properly shot down.”
National Association of Manufacturers President and CEO JAY TIMMONS: “When you are talking about higher taxes on individuals — as some people are suggesting — what you are talking about is the 90% of members of the National Association of Manufacturers. We’ve got 14,000 members, who are small businesses. Who are family owned. That is what will get hit the worst: small businesses. And we don’t want to see that happen.”
RUTHLESS co-host JOSH HOLMES: On the notion of anyone in the GOP supporting a tax rate increase: “That’s not populism it’s an advancement of progressive left’s agenda.”
PATRICK BET-DAVID: “If they do touch increasing tax rates on business owners, they are not going to have a lot of happy people there if that were to take place.”
Fox Business Network host David Asman: “From 1981 to 1987, Reagan cut the highest tax rate from 70% to 28%. We ended up with 7 fat years…until George H Bush broke his pledge and RAISED rates. The economy tanked and Bush lost. Now some RINOs are suggesting Trump do the same. This could save Dems from self destruction.”
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