How Republicans could pay for Trump agenda and how it could hit your wallet
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Trump promised to cut taxes and government spending but also fund lofty proposals like mass deportation. President Donald Trump’s lofty agenda to tackle immigration, cut taxes across the board and reduce federal spending means Congress will need to find creative ways to fund his agenda while scaling back costs, and some of those ideas could cost American taxpayers.
![[Trump after signing the $1.5 trillion tax overhaul plan in 2017 – he has often called for the tax plan to become permanent]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/11/26/12/SEI230878999.jpg)
The ideas are part of a plan to supplement government spending to pay for Trump’s ideas such as removing taxes on tips and overtime which they estimate could cost roughly $856 billion or lowering the corporate tax rate to 15 percent which could cost $522 billion.
![[On the campaign trail, Trump bolstered the prospect of tariffs, claiming it was ‘the most beautiful word’]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/09/03/14/2169506403.jpg)
The president’s desire to tackle immigration is also a point of contention given it will require billions more in spending to build immigration detention centers, the border wall, deploy more immigration agents and more. Here are some of the ideas Republicans have suggested and how they could impact Americans.
![[Many conservatives have long dreamed of scaling back government programs like Medicaid and Medicare]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/07/15/21/iStock-1047505000.jpg)
Students, a population that typically does not have large incomes, would pay more in taxes to attend higher education institutes should some of the ideas be enacted. The suggestion would see typically tax-deductible education expenses like student loan interest, and scholarship and fellowship income, made taxable.
By making employer-provided meals, lodging, transportation benefits and work gyms taxable, Republicans estimate they could save $157 billion over 10 years. However, it would mean taxes for average working Americans who receive any of those perks will go up.
