Trump Suggests New Agency for Gathering Revenue from International Sources
As his inauguration nears, President-elect Donald Trump reveals the establishment of the 'External Revenue Service' to gather tariffs and duties, indicating a change in U.S. trade policy.
President-elect Donald Trump announced on Tuesday the creation of a new government agency, the 'External Revenue Service,' which will focus on collecting tariffs, duties, and other revenues from foreign entities.
This initiative aligns with his plan to introduce new import tariffs as he assumes office for his second term on January 20. Trump, in a post on Truth Social, argued that Americans have long been overtaxed by the Internal Revenue Service, while foreign beneficiaries of U.S. trade have not paid their due share.
The proposal hints at a significant overhaul of U.S. revenue collection, concentrating on foreign contributions, but the specifics are still unclear.
Trump did not specify whether this new agency would take over the U.S. Customs and Border Protection's tariff collection duties or the IRS's tax collection from foreign corporations and individuals.
The announcement has sparked concerns about potential government bureaucracy expansion, possibly conflicting with Trump's past initiatives to streamline government, such as his informal Department of Government Efficiency led by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy.
Trump's vision of replacing income taxes with tariffs, a topic from his presidential campaign, has faced skepticism.
Economists, including those from the Tax Foundation, contend that a 20% tariff would yield considerably less revenue than the current tax system, estimating $3.3 trillion over a decade as opposed to the IRS's yearly revenue of up to $18 trillion.
Senator Ron Wyden, the leading Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, criticized Trump's plan, describing it as a disguised tax increase on American families and small businesses.
Trump has proposed various tariff rates, such as a 10% tariff on all global imports, a 25% tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico, and a 60% tariff on Chinese goods.
Experts caution that these tariffs could disrupt trade flows, raise costs, and incite retaliatory measures against U.S. exports, further complicating the U.S. trade environment.
This initiative aligns with his plan to introduce new import tariffs as he assumes office for his second term on January 20. Trump, in a post on Truth Social, argued that Americans have long been overtaxed by the Internal Revenue Service, while foreign beneficiaries of U.S. trade have not paid their due share.
The proposal hints at a significant overhaul of U.S. revenue collection, concentrating on foreign contributions, but the specifics are still unclear.
Trump did not specify whether this new agency would take over the U.S. Customs and Border Protection's tariff collection duties or the IRS's tax collection from foreign corporations and individuals.
The announcement has sparked concerns about potential government bureaucracy expansion, possibly conflicting with Trump's past initiatives to streamline government, such as his informal Department of Government Efficiency led by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy.
Trump's vision of replacing income taxes with tariffs, a topic from his presidential campaign, has faced skepticism.
Economists, including those from the Tax Foundation, contend that a 20% tariff would yield considerably less revenue than the current tax system, estimating $3.3 trillion over a decade as opposed to the IRS's yearly revenue of up to $18 trillion.
Senator Ron Wyden, the leading Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, criticized Trump's plan, describing it as a disguised tax increase on American families and small businesses.
Trump has proposed various tariff rates, such as a 10% tariff on all global imports, a 25% tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico, and a 60% tariff on Chinese goods.
Experts caution that these tariffs could disrupt trade flows, raise costs, and incite retaliatory measures against U.S. exports, further complicating the U.S. trade environment.
