Donald Trump Has Raised Taxes on the Middle Class By $250 Billion

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Last year Donald Trump cut taxes on corporations and the rich by about $2 trillion over the next ten years. But what about us ordinary schmoes? For us he’s levied the following taxes:

  • 25 percent tariff on steel imports
  • 10 percent tariff on aluminum imports
  • 25 percent tariff on $50 billion in imports from China

By my calculation, this comes to about $250 billion over ten years, something that Republicans have grumbled about slightly but done nothing to stop. And make no mistake: this is basically a sales tax that will ultimately be paid by consumers. So there you have it: a $2 trillion cut cut for the rich and a $250 billion tax hike for the middle class—so far. Welcome to the Republican Party’s vision for America.

DONALD TRUMP & DEMOCRACY

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DONALD TRUMP & DEMOCRACY

Mother Jones was founded to do things differently in the aftermath of a political crisis: Watergate. We stand for justice and democracy. We reject false equivalence. We go after, and go deep on, stories others don’t. And we’re a nonprofit newsroom because we knew corporations and billionaires would never fund the journalism we do. Our reporting makes a difference in policies and people’s lives changed.

And we need your support like never before to vigorously fight back against the existential threats American democracy and journalism face. We’re running behind our online fundraising targets and urgently need all hands on deck right now. We can’t afford to come up short—we have no cushion; we leave it all on the field.

Please help with a donation today if you can—even just a few bucks helps. Not ready to donate but interested in our work? Sign up for our Daily newsletter to stay well-informed—and see what makes our people-powered, not profit-driven, journalism special.

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