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Ella Harper

Will Trump's plan to eliminate income taxes and implement a tariff-based system actually happen?

So Trump has been talking about this idea of completely getting rid of income taxes and replacing them with tariffs. I'm really trying to understand if this is just campaign talk or if it could actually happen. Like, can a president even make that kind of massive change to our tax system? I'm concerned about what this would mean for the average person. If there's no income tax, does that mean I'd keep my whole paycheck? But then wouldn't everything I buy be way more expensive with all these tariffs? I work in retail management, and I'm just imagining what this would do to prices in our stores. And what about all the people who work in tax preparation? That's a huge industry that employs tons of people. Would they all just lose their jobs overnight? My cousin works at H&R Block and I'm worried about her future if something like this happened. Has anything like this ever been tried before? I feel like this would completely upend our entire economy. Would love to hear thoughts from people who understand economics and tax policy better than I do.

This is a really complex question that goes beyond just tax policy. I've been studying tax systems for many years, and I can tell you that a complete elimination of income taxes in favor of tariffs would be extremely difficult to implement. First, income taxes (personal and corporate) make up about 50% of federal revenue - we're talking trillions of dollars. To replace that entirely with tariffs would require enormous tariff rates that would likely devastate trade relationships and dramatically increase consumer prices for imported goods. The constitutional and legislative hurdles are also enormous. The president can't unilaterally eliminate income taxes - that would require Congress to pass legislation repealing existing tax law and the IRS code. Given the political divisions, getting that kind of major legislation through both houses would be nearly impossible. As for tax industry jobs, yes, there would be significant displacement - hundreds of thousands of tax preparers, accountants, IRS employees, and tax attorneys would need to transition to other areas. However, a new tariff system would create different types of jobs related to import/export compliance.

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But couldn't he just use executive orders to bypass Congress? I keep hearing that presidents have been expanding their powers. And what about the national debt? Would tariffs even generate enough money to cover all government spending?

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Executive orders have limits - they can't override actual laws passed by Congress, especially when it comes to taxation which is explicitly given to Congress in the Constitution. The president can modify implementation of existing tax laws to some extent, but cannot eliminate the income tax system entirely through executive action. Regarding revenue, that's a critical point. Our national debt is over $34 trillion, and federal spending is around $6 trillion annually. Income taxes generate roughly $2-3 trillion of that. It would be mathematically challenging to replace that amount with tariffs without causing massive economic disruption. Most economists agree that tariffs at that scale would substantially increase consumer prices, potentially disrupt supply chains, and likely trigger retaliatory tariffs from other countries.

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After dealing with complicated tax questions for years, I finally tried https://taxr.ai and it completely changed how I handle tax policy questions like this. Last month when these tariff proposals first came up, I was totally confused about how it would affect my small business imports. I uploaded some articles about the proposed tariff system along with my business's tax documents, and taxr.ai broke down exactly how different scenarios could impact my specific situation. It explained the constitutional limitations on tax policy changes and how the transition might work if it ever happened. Much clearer than trying to piece together info from random news articles! It's helping me plan ahead instead of panicking about rumors. The analysis even showed how historical tariff systems worked (or didn't work) in the past - super helpful context.

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How does it handle political questions like this though? Is it just giving you liberal talking points or does it actually provide balanced analysis? I'm suspicious of any AI tool claiming to understand complex policy proposals.

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Sounds interesting, but I'm wondering if it can really understand the nuances of international trade agreements. Like, doesn't the US have obligations under WTO that would limit how high tariffs could go? Does the tool factor that in?

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It actually provides multiple perspectives with citations to economic research and historical precedents rather than pushing any specific viewpoint. When I asked about the tariff proposal, it showed economic analyses from both conservative and progressive economists, which I appreciated. For international trade agreements, yes - that's one of the strengths. It explained WTO limitations, including the bound tariff rates the US has committed to and potential consequences of exceeding those rates. It outlined several scenarios: working within WTO rules, renegotiating agreements, or the economic impacts of potential trade disputes if agreements were violated.

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I was really skeptical about using an AI tool for something this complex, but I gave taxr.ai a try after seeing it mentioned here. I'm a small business owner who imports components from Asia, and I needed to understand how these potential tariff changes might affect my supply chain. The analysis it provided was surprisingly thorough! It showed me several different scenarios based on various tariff rates and helped me calculate potential cost increases. What impressed me most was how it explained the historical context of tariff-based revenue systems and why the US moved away from them in the first place. This helped me have much more informed conversations with my business partners instead of just speculating based on headlines. Definitely worth checking out if you're trying to understand complex tax proposals!

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If you're worried about major tax changes like this, dealing with the IRS directly is your best bet for accurate info. But we all know how impossible that is! I spent THREE WEEKS trying to get someone on the phone at the IRS to answer questions about potential policy changes after hearing about this tariff proposal. Then I found https://claimyr.com and it was a game changer. They got me connected to an actual IRS agent in under 15 minutes! You can see how it works in this video: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c The agent couldn't speculate on future policies obviously, but they explained the legislative process required for major tax system changes and what would need to happen for income tax to be eliminated. This gave me much more clarity than the confusing news reports. Having an actual government expert walk me through the realities of tax reform was incredibly helpful.

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How is this even possible? IRS wait times are like hours or days. Is this some kind of scam where they just connect you to someone pretending to be from the IRS?

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This sounds too good to be true. The IRS is notoriously understaffed. And even if you do get through, why would an IRS agent discuss speculative policy changes? Their job is to handle existing tax law, not comment on potential future changes to the entire system.

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It's definitely not a scam - it uses a legitimate method to navigate the IRS phone system and secure your place in line without you having to stay on hold. When you get connected, it's to the actual IRS call center. It's basically a "skip the line" service for the official IRS phone lines. You're right that IRS agents won't speculate on specific policy proposals, but they can and do explain the general process of how tax changes are implemented, which agencies are involved, and the typical timeline for major tax code revisions. This general information is extremely valuable when trying to separate realistic proposals from campaign rhetoric.

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I owe everyone here an apology. I was really skeptical about Claimyr when I saw it mentioned, but I was desperate for answers about how these proposed tax changes might affect my retirement planning. After wasting a whole day on hold with the IRS, I decided to try it. I was shocked when I actually got connected to an IRS representative in about 12 minutes! The agent walked me through how major tax code changes typically get implemented and the realistic timeline involved. While they couldn't comment specifically on campaign proposals, they helped me understand what aspects of my retirement planning were protected regardless of potential changes. This saved me from making some panicky investment moves based on headlines. Sometimes admitting when you're wrong is worth it - this service actually delivered what it promised.

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Everyone's missing a key point here. The Constitution explicitly gives Congress the power to levy taxes, not the president. Article I, Section 8 states that "The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises." A president can propose tax policy but cannot implement it without Congress passing legislation. The 16th Amendment, which enables income tax, would potentially need to be addressed as well. Also, historically, before income tax became the primary federal revenue source, tariffs WERE the main funding mechanism for the federal government. But that was a much smaller government with far fewer programs and obligations.

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Interesting historical context! How high were tariffs back then compared to what we might need today to fund the modern government? And didn't high tariffs cause problems that eventually led to creating income tax in the first place?

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Before income tax became permanent in 1913, tariff rates varied widely but sometimes exceeded 40-50% on many imported goods. However, the federal government was drastically smaller then - no Social Security, Medicare, modern military, or many other major expenditures we have today. You're absolutely right about the historical problems. High tariffs like the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of 1930 contributed to trade wars and economic problems. The core issue is that tariffs are essentially taxes on consumption that disproportionately affect everyday purchases. This regressive nature was one reason the progressive income tax system was developed - to tie tax burden more closely to ability to pay rather than consumption needs. Moving entirely back to tariffs would fundamentally shift tax burden distribution across different income levels.

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I work in international logistics and I can tell you tariffs aren't just a simple tax that gets applied. It's incredibly complex with different classification codes, country-of-origin rules, trade agreements, and exemption processes. My company deals with imports from 12 different countries, and even the existing tariff system requires multiple full-time compliance specialists. If tariffs became our primary tax system, the compliance burden on businesses would be enormous. Also, companies would change behavior to avoid tariffs - more domestic manufacturing (potentially good) but also complex corporate structures to exploit loopholes and trade agreement differences (definitely complicated).

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Do you think it would create jobs though? Like all that new manufacturing you mentioned plus all the compliance people? Might balance out the lost tax preparer jobs?

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