By Grand Rapids Anonymous
thursday, february 20, 2025 at 1:15:00 p.m. est
Commerce secretary: Trump’s goal is “to end the irs”
“(zh) commerce secretary Howard Lutnick said on wednesday that President Trump’s goal is to abolish the internal revenue service (irs).
“‘think about it, Donald Trump announces the external revenue service, and his goal is very simple (...) his goal is to abolish the internal revenue service and let all the outsiders pay,’ Lutnick told Fox news host Jesse Watters.
“Trump has said that the external revenue service will force foreign trade partners to ‘finally pay their fair share,’ and has previously floated the idea of abolishing federal income taxes as part of his plans for ‘tariffing and taxing foreign nations to enrich our citizens.
“Lutnick also said that Elon Musk and doge were ‘going to cut’ $1 trillion, ‘and then we’re going to get rid of all these tax scams that hammer against America, and we’re going to raise a trillion dollars of revenue.
“the irs is responsible for collecting the federal taxes from individuals and corporations – taking in some $823 billion in individual taxes in 2024, roughly 52% of total revenue, according to the treasury department.
“Lutnick’s remarks come as the irs is reportedly looking to lay off thousands of workers. according to the associated press, the agency will start by letting go roughly 7,000 probationary workers in Washington and around the country. those with roughly one year or less of service at the agency – largely in compliance departments – will be affected, according to the report.”
GRA: This kind of change is hard to believe. I suppose a flat tax is the replacement—15% is what I read.
--GRA
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4 comments:
Government was once funded by tariffs. No reason it couldn't be again--especially if all the bloat and over regulation was cut out.
1/2 “Lutnick also said that Elon Musk and doge were ‘going to cut’ $1 trillion..." - which is pretty much what I thought (it's somewhere in the recent tOOt-so-shell archives) - but at least $2.5 trillion's needed, otherwise we're still in the debt dumper. As Mark Steyn wrote this week ... again ... America is "the broke, brokey, brokiest nation in history".
Even worse if the "$5,000 to everyone" DOGE Dividend stunt happens. Didn't they learn anything from the covid stimulus handouts? Just last month the IRS was going mad with publicity trying to give away more money to any dummies who didn't get their 2021 payments. It was a train wreck with the tax forms, too, inviting the amateur con artists and repressed memory types to say "hey, I didn't get my money, just add it to my tax refund" and then lighting up the phones of disturbotax and others wondering "why is my refund less than I expected"?
2/2 A nice thing about tariffs (I never thought I'd start a sentence that way) is that they are like a sales tax and if Trump can really do it without Congress, Elizabeth Warren is cut out of the process.
If the flat income tax made it to Congressional debate, the do-gooders would be trying to guilt-trip us about the evil people in the 22%, 24%, 32%, 35%, 37% tax bracket not paying their "fair share", whatever that means.
Or in the case of the few brave states that open the door to serious state income tax reduction and making it up with a very minor sales tax increase, the "advocates" for "the poor" tie themselves in knots over how that would shift the tax burden to "the poor". They love their little state Department of Revenue swamps.
Or...by the time any of this gets done--by way of the courts and/or congress..it will be 2028.
--GRA
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