Doable Or Not, Trump’s Tax Cut Pledges Are Coming Fast And Furious As Election Nears

Photo: Reuters/Rebecca Cook

WASHINGTON, DC (REUTERS) – Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is rolling out a new tax-cut proposal about once a week in an unusual rush in the final stretch of the campaign to sway voters in an election that could be decided by just a few thousand votes.

Trump’s parade of giveaways comes at a time when presidential hopefuls are typically busy fine-tuning existing proposals rather than making a host of new ones with little acknowledgment of the fiscal cost to be paid down the road.

Want to buy a car? Trump has a tax cut for you. Wish you did not have to pay taxes on tips, or working overtime, or your Social Security? Trump has proposals to help you there, too.

With a little over three weeks left until Election Day, both the former president and his Democratic rival, Vice President Kamala Harris, are indulging in some economic populism to lure voters. Many economists say Trump’s promises, if fulfilled, are by far the biggest budget-busters.

Trump pledged in Detroit on October 11 to allow consumers to deduct the interest on car loans, a plan he said would boost the U.S. auto industry. He did not mention the bill American taxpayers could be left footing.

Less than 24 hours earlier, he had promised Americans living abroad that he would end double taxation.

And on October 11, he said he would let Americans in some states that are vulnerable to hurricanes write off the cost of purchasing home generators on their income taxes.

“He’s a salesman at heart, and one of his advantages in sales, as in politics, is that he’s unencumbered by shame or consistency or policy details,” said Liam Donovan, a Republican strategist in Virginia who doesn’t work for Trump’s campaign.”In this case, Trump is trying to close a deal, and the spate of policy proposals are a bid to give the customer what they want.”

Trump has also promised to do away with taxes on tips and overtime hours for wage workers, eliminate a cap on a tax deduction known as “SALT” enjoyed mainly by wealthy taxpayers, and eliminate taxes on Social Security benefits.

Trump recently also promised to reduce the corporate tax rate from 21% to 15% for companies that make their products in the U.S. and give companies purchasing heavy machinery a tax credit.

Some of the proposals appear geared toward groups Trump will need to win on November 5.