Trump and Speaker Mike Johnson shoot down millionaire tax hike
Some Republicans had debated breaking from party orthodoxy by allowing taxes to go up on wealthy Americans to help pay for a massive bill for Trump's agenda.
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., came out against a tax increase on millionaires, appearing to close the door on an idea that some Republicans have considered to pay for their massive party-line bill.
"I think it would be very disruptive, because a lot of the millionaires would leave the country," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office when asked about the proposal on Wednesday. "The old days, they left states. They go from one state to the other. Now with transportation so quick and so easy, they leave countries."
"You’ll lose a lot of money if you do that," the president added. "And other countries that have done it have lost a lot of people. They lose their wealthy people. That would be bad, because the wealthy people pay the tax."
The tax rate on the highest earners is set to automatically increase from 37% to 39.6% at the end of this year when major portions of Trump's tax cuts from 2017 expire. Some Republican lawmakers have said they're open to letting that top rate increase as a way to limit the deficit impact of their agenda, which includes tax breaks and spending increases on immigration enforcement and the military.
Johnson also threw cold water on the prospect of a tax hike on Americans making over a million dollars annually.
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