Donald Trump promises to eliminate the income tax for every single American, but there is a catch

President Trump suggested Tuesday that Americans may soon pay “no income tax,” stating that the massive revenue being generated by tariffs could allow for the historic elimination of the federal income tax under his administration. This is a huge, game-changing proposal that could completely overhaul how the United States funds itself.

The president made the suggestion to a press gaggle following a Cabinet meeting. He argued that the revenue the government is collecting under his administration is “so great… so enormous” that it makes the income tax unnecessary, as reported by Fox. President Trump told reporters that “at some point in the not too distant future you won’t even have income tax to pay.”

This isn’t just a small tax break; abolishing the federal income tax would mark the most ambitious overhaul of the American tax system in more than a century. The president’s repeated public support for replacing the tax with tariffs makes this the most explicit endorsement of the idea we’ve seen yet.

The same tariffs that hurt us will somehow help us

President Trump even suggested that the tax could be kept simply for symbolic purposes. He added, “Whether you get rid of it or just keep it around for fun or have it really low, much lower than it is now, but you won’t be paying income tax.” That’s a pretty strong indication that the administration is serious about relying on trade revenue instead of wage taxes.

The core philosophy behind this plan is that the United States should be taxing foreign nations to enrich its own citizens, not taxing its citizens to enrich foreign nations. Back in January, the president laid out this vision clearly. He stated, “It’s time for the United States to return to the system that made us richer and more powerful than ever before.” He continued, “Instead of taxing our citizens to enrich foreign nations, we should be tariffing and taxing foreign nations to enrich our citizens.”

This aggressive focus on tariffs as the primary funding mechanism has definitely moved the idea of abolishing the income tax, which was long considered a fringe concept, much closer to the mainstream debate stage.

It’s interesting to note that the president’s views on the income tax have certainly evolved. Earlier in his second administration, he had floated a slightly less expansive plan that would eliminate income tax only for individuals earning under $150,000, with tariffs still proposed as the replacement funding source. He later confirmed his commitment to the full elimination when podcaster Joe Rogan asked him directly if he was serious about it, responding, “Yeah, sure, why not?” and confirming tariffs could fund the government instead of wage taxes.

If you look back even further, when he was considering a presidential run in 1999 under the Reform Party, President Trump was actually considering a one-time “net worth” tax on people with wealth over $10 million. That’s a huge shift from the current proposal.