President Donald Trump has said he’s open to the idea of raising taxes, particularly on America’s top earners. According to published reports, his Vice President JD Vance and budget director Russell Vought are potentially on board, too.
“Tax the rich” is also being touted by populist firebrand Steve Bannon, who advised Trump during his first term.
However, a recent poll by Fabrizio, Lee & Associates shows voters that the GOP will need November 2026 are concerned about the prospect of tax hikes. Americans want to see Trump’s 2017 tax cuts kept in place, the poll found.
Many Republicans view the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) as the high point of Trump’s first term. The Cato Institute, for example, calls the law “more than just a tax cut; it was the most significant reform to the U.S. tax code in 30 years.”
The Trump plan lowered income tax rates for the majority of taxpayers and nearly doubled the standard deduction. It also cut taxes on American companies from one of the highest rates in the world (35 percent) to one of the most competitive (21 percent).
If Congress doesn’t act by the end of the year to extend the cuts, those rates will expire and taxes will return to their previous — and far higher — levels.
The poll focused on a handful of swing congressional battlegrounds like Maine’s 2nd District, where Trump won by nine points last year, but Democrat Rep. Jared Golden was reelected.
“By a 16-point margin, a majority of voters in these key districts are in favor of Congress extending the 2017 Trump tax cuts, 52 to 36 percent,” the pollsters said. “Republicans drive this support, with 88 percent in favor of extending and only seven percent opposed. But independents also favor extending the tax cuts by a double-digit margin, 51 to 32 percent.”
The business community is on board, too. A new analysis from the Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) reports that keeping the TCJA tax rates would boost the level of long-run real GDP by 2.6 to 3.2 percent and raise annual real wages by $2,100 to $3,300 per worker.
Fabrizio, Lee asked swing-state voters about their tax-policy priorities. The pitch that received the most praise was that “America must be competitive with nations like China. More products should be made in America. Extending the Trump tax cuts is key to making the U.S. the most business-friendly nation on earth.”
A whopping 87 percent of Republicans said that statement made them more likely to support extending the TCJA tax cuts.
When Trump teased a possible tax hike, backlash from fiscal conservatives ensued.
“Republicans for higher taxes?” posted economist and Trump advisor Stephen Moore. “Many seem to forget their pledge to voters against higher taxes. The Trump tax cuts already shifted the burden, with the wealthy paying more at a 37 percent rate.”
The most prominent voice in conservative politics on tax hikes, Grover Norquist of Americans for Tax Reform, also weighed in.
“President Trump is not going to allow the top rate for income taxes to be increased. That is a direct hit on small businesses,” Norquist said.
And former GOP Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich released a note that he said came from Trump that appeared to close the door on higher taxes.
“George Bush said, ‘READ MY LIPS, NO NEW TAXES,’ then proceeded to give a rather small tax increase, and was obliterated,” Trump reportedly wrote.
“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.”
The other key finding from the poll is that Republicans have a sense of urgency on the tax issue. More than 90 percent of Republicans said Congress “needs to act as quickly as possible to make sure the 2017 Trump tax cuts do not expire and cause the cost of living to increase even further.”
House Ways and Means Chair Jason Smith (R-Mo.) agrees.
“Congress has an opportunity to lock in the most pro-worker, pro-growth tax policy in a generation that will keep businesses hiring and help rural Americans thrive,” Smith said. “We cannot afford to wait until the last minute. Americans need certainty today that their tax rates won’t go up next year.”
Asked Wednesday about talk of Trump pushing a tax hike, Gov. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) just shook her head.
“Washington should do what New Hampshire does — no income tax!”
