Donald Trump is considering hiking taxes for Americans who earn more than $1 million a year in a bid to help finance his ambitious tax cuts.
New details have emerged of closed-door discussions among high-ranking White House officials about the administration’s 2025 tax legislation.
Discussions are in the early stages, but Trump and some of his key officials – including Vice President JD Vance and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent – are reportedly open to hiking taxes for the wealthy, The Washington Post reports.
Doing so would spark an internal war among conservative Republicans and the party faithful, given it would stray drastically from the long held notion that the GOP is the party of America’s wealthy.
Even whispers of a tax hike have shaken the faith of outspoken conservatives. Sean Hannity said last week the bold agenda would ‘hurt the economy and go against everything Donald Trump has ever believed in.’
‘What Republicans would go forward with a tax increase when they should be making the Trump tax cuts permanent, eliminating tax on tips, Social Security and overtime?’ Hannity added. ‘Because that’s what the president promised.’
One suggestion which has been floated by former Trump strategist Steve Bannon is to allow the top tax rate for earners over $626,350 to revere to its pre-2017 level of 39.6 percent. It is currently held at 37 percent.
Another proposal would be to create a new tax bracket for earners over $1 million, or potentially a higher tax bracket again of above $3 million or $5 million.
‘This guts the AOC-Bernie ‘oligarchy tour,’ Bannon said, referencing Democrats Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Bernie Sanders’ national tour trying to undermine the government.
The Trump administration is considering hiking taxes for Americans who earn more than $1million a year in a bid to help finance his ambitious tax cuts
Ocasio-Cortez and Bernie Sanders are among ultra-left Democrats who have consistently proposed ‘taxing the rich’ in an effort to create a more equal society. They’re currently on a national tour accusing the government of creating an oligarchy
Ocasio-Cortez and Bernie Sanders are among ultra-left Democrats who have consistently proposed ‘taxing the rich’ in an effort to create a more equal society.
As part of their tour, they’ve accused the Trump administration of cultivating an oligarchy out of a crew of billionaires who are benefiting from the government to the detriment of everyday voters.
‘Politically, it’s game, set, match — it’s a no-brainer. This would destroy the Democrats,’ Bannon said.
But critics have argued that rather than ‘destroying the Democrats’, a move to raise taxes would alienate the voter base and stray from long held party values.
Newt Gingrich, who formerly served as House Speaker and is critical of a tax hike, shared a message purportedly sent by Trump which appears to shut down the suggestion.
‘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,’ it read.
Gingrich said: ‘The president’s comments indicate that the idea of raising the income tax is dead, that it doesn’t fit at all with where we’re going.’
Speaker Mike Johnson recently argued against tax hikes, insisting Republicans are ‘generally… trying to reduce taxes.’
Discussions are in the early stages, but President Trump and some of his key officials – including Vice President JD Vance and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent – are reportedly open to hiking taxes for the wealthy
Even whispers of a tax hike have shaken the faith of outspoken conservatives . Sean Hannity said last week the bold agenda would ‘hurt the economy and go against everything Donald Trump has ever believed in’
Trump vowed to remove tax on tips, social security payments and overtime as part of his campaign pledge, but doing so will come at a steep cost.
A spokeswoman for Vance told the publication ‘only President Trump determines the administration’s policy agenda.’
She added that Vance, in his capacity as Vice President, is ‘fully committed to supporting and executing on those priorities.’
But an insider said Vance is supportive of the idea, noting his past record in this arena.
In 2023, he said he was opposed to further tax cuts for corporations, and during his time in the Senate he considered bipartisan measures to help close tax loopholes for big corporations.
Vance is widely considered the future of the party and is in prime position to secure the GOP presidential nomination in 2028.
And a Treasury official said the ‘administration and Congress are considering a wide range of options.
‘Secretary Bessent is laser-focused on executing the President’s policy agenda, which includes making his historic Tax Cuts and Jobs Act permanent and no tax on tips, on overtime, and on social security.
‘The Republican Party is unified both in the Cabinet and in Congress in executing President Trump’s policies, with record pace and purpose.’
Critics have argued that rather than ‘destroying the Democrats’, a move to raise taxes would alienate the voter base and stray from long held party values
Support from Bessent would be a sharp U-turn for the Treasury boss, who in January described extending the 2017 tax cuts as ‘the single most important economic issue of the day.
‘This is pass/fail,’ he said. ‘If we do not fix these tax cuts, if we do not renew and extend, then we will be facing an economic calamity.’
According to Semafor, Trump himself has also expressed to his inner circle that the idea has merits.
‘The budget people are trying to make the numbers work and you have the Trump people who seem open to it, but traditional conservatives do not seem to like it whatsoever,’ American Enterprise Institute senior fellow Kyle Pomerleau said.
He added that simply reverting the top tax rate could inject about $400billion over 10 years.
