Trump’s trillion-dollar tax cuts are spiralling out of control
His zany promises would blow up the deficit
For American policy wonks, the final stretch of the presidential election has given rise to a new parlour game. What is the next tax that Donald Trump will promise to cut? The Republican candidate has trotted out a range of pledges, from no taxes on overtime work to no taxes on retirement benefits. Last week alone he proposed three new exemptions, including making interest on car loans tax-deductible. It is easy to figure out what Mr Trump hopes to gain. Yet the economic implications are dispiriting: not just a bigger fiscal deficit but a much messier tax code.
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This article appeared in the Finance & economics section of the print edition under the headline “Blue-sky thinking”
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