Center for American Progress Action

Former President Trump Proposes an Up to $3,900 Tax Increase for a Typical Family
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Former President Trump Proposes an Up to $3,900 Tax Increase for a Typical Family

Trump recently floated raising his tax on all imported goods from 10 percent to as much as 20 percent, costing families thousands of dollars.

Former President Donald Trump speaks during a press conference at the Mar-a-Lago estate.
Former President Donald Trump speaks during a press conference at the Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, on August 8, 2024. (Getty/Joe Raedle)

Former President Donald Trump has been running on a 10 percent tax on every imported good entering the United States and a 60 percent tax on every imported good from China. The Center for American Progress Action Fund has calculated that this would amount to an annual $2,500 tax increase for a family in the middle of the income distribution.

Now, Trump has opened the door to an even larger tax increase by suggesting that the across-the-board tax on imports could go as high as 20 percent, saying:

We’re going to have 10 to 20 percent tariffs on foreign countries that have been ripping us off for years … We’re going to charge them 10 to 20 percent to come in and take advantage of our country.

Using the same methodology, CAP Action estimates that a 20 percent across-the-board import tax combined with the 60 percent tax on Chinese goods would amount to about a $3,900 tax increase for a middle-income family.*  This includes a $200 tax increase on food; a $240 tax increase on oil and petroleum products; and a $210 tax increase on medicine.

A typical family would, therefore, pay between $2,500 to $3,900 from Trump’s import taxes, depending on the precise tax rate between 10 percent and 20 percent that various countries’ goods could be taxed at.

*Author’s note: The analysis assumes the tax on imported Chinese goods is 40 percent on top of the 20 percent tariff on all imported goods.

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Author

Brendan Duke

Senior Director, Economic Policy

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