Former President of the United States and Republican presidential candidate, Donald Trump, said that if he defeats Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris in the November election, he will invite billionaire and CEO of Tesla, Elon Musk, to serve in his cabinet and plans to cancel tax exemptions for electric cars.
On Monday (August 19th), Trump said in an interview with Reuters that he would appoint Musk to the government cabinet if he is willing to accept the position but noted that he would consider canceling the $7500 tax exemption for certain new electric cars, which could impact the Tesla business of selling electric cars. #US Election#
After a campaign event in York, Pennsylvania, Trump said in an interview, "Tax exemptions and incentives are generally not a good thing."
In July of this year, Trump narrowly avoided assassination at a campaign rally in western Pennsylvania, and Musk immediately expressed support for Trump.
Musk's pro-Trump super PAC is recruiting campaign staff in North Carolina, and he posted a D.O.G.E. image on Twitter earlier this week that was seen as a mockery of the current President Biden administration.
Read more: Musk's sudden, heavy-handed move - a rare post causing market shockwaves...
Trump said he will provide "huge tax cuts" for Americans.
In contrast, Harris has called for raising the corporate tax rate to 28%, which is her first major proposal to increase revenue and fund expensive plans if she wins the November election.
(Source: CNBC)
James Singer, a spokesman for Harris' campaign, told NBC News that she will push for a 28% corporate tax rate, calling it "a fiscally responsible way to put money back in the pockets of working people and ensure that billionaires and big corporations pay their fair share."
"As president, Harris will work to create opportunity economics for the middle class by increasing their economic security, stability, and dignity," wrote Singer in an email.
If Harris' policies are implemented, they will raise billions of dollars, as the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office predicts that each percentage point increase in the corporate tax rate will raise about $100 billion over 10 years. It would also repeal a large part of the legislation signed by President Trump during his 2017 term, which reduced the corporate tax rate from 35% to 21%.
Meanwhile, Trump recently said that if he is elected president, he will further reduce taxes, including corporate taxes.
During the Democratic National Convention, Harris slowly added details to her vision for governance, including how she would pay for expensive ideas such as expanding child tax credits and reducing the cost of housing and medical debt.
So far, she has not provided a cost estimate for her proposals or matched them with a revenue offset.
CNBC reported that a 28% corporate tax rate is lower than the rate proposed by Harris during her failed presidential campaign in 2020, when she called for a complete repeal of Trump's tax cut policy, which would have raised the corporate tax rate back to 35%. Harris' new position is consistent with the latest budget proposal by President Biden.
The Republicans are sure to oppose a 28% corporate tax rate, meaning Harris may need Democratic control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate to pass the bill in Congress. But potential President Harris will have some leverage in tax policy negotiations with Republicans, as many other parts of Trump's tax cuts will expire at the end of 2025, which will lead to major debates next year on which parts to extend.
At a recent press conference, Trump predicted that Democrats would "face tremendous pressure" to extend the expiring tax cut policies next year and that "if Democrats do not extend or cause the tax cut policies to not be extended, it will destroy the economy."
Meanwhile, Singer linked Trump to the "extreme 2025 plan," which he said would "raise deficits" and "raise taxes on the middle class," citing estimates of up to 20% tariffs proposed by Trump.