How about … a tariff dividend for taxpayers?



President Trump’s trade reciprocity policy is exactly the right approach to level the playing field and fight the predatory export policies from so many of our trading partners.



Places like Communist China and Vietnam have used high tariffs and cheap wages to attack the American economy.



The European Union uses a high tariff and regulatory stranglehold to keep out American exports.



This must change.



So, Mr. Trump’s reciprocity policy is increasing the charges on foreign countries that have abused the world trading system.



Now, the White House is estimating that the increase in American tariff charges could yield roughly $600 billion a year.



Of course, if foreign exporters eat the tariffs and cut their prices, revenues may be lower.



Or, if American businesses fear a consumer boycott of higher prices, they may cut their profit margins — and that too would lower the revenue estimate.



However this all turns out, though, $600 billion is a lot of cash.



It’s roughly 2 percent of gross domestic product, and many economists believe it will weaken the economy.



So here’s a solution: there’s more than enough tariff revenue to lower taxes.



Take those $600 billion in tariff charges — and turn it over to taxpayers.



And do it right away.



This idea of a tariff dividend for taxpayers is not yet part of the one, big, beautiful bill circulating through the House and Senate — because, well, it was only yesterday that Mr. Trump unveiled his plan.



Yet I believe the $600 billion in potential tariff revenues should be plugged into the Republican budget resolution — so that it can finance large-scale new tax cuts for middle-class blue-collar families, who may have some trouble with the transition to a new trade policy.



Or they have suffered over the past four Biden years — where prices went up much higher than wages.



Actually, real wages have hardly moved in nearly 25 years.



So if Mr. Trump’s reciprocal trade policy produces a big chunk of change, then why not distribute it to the workforce that’s carried the burden for so long?



Why not, say, collapse the bottom three tax brackets of 10 percent, 12 percent, and 22 percent, into perhaps a 15 percent tax rate with a high income threshold maybe reaching $100,000 a year.



Then take the middle brackets — 24 percent, 32 percent, and 35 percent — and collapse that into one bracket around 28 percent — that would reach all the way up to perhaps $500,000 in annual income.



And while they’re at it, cut the made in America corporate rate all the way down to perhaps 10 percent or even less.



And make sure the top income tax rate is dropped to around 35 percent.



And remember — small businesses pay THAT income tax rate.



The great Steve Forbes has been promoting this kind of pro-growth tax simplification for quite some time.



Flatten the rates — and broaden the base.



Congress should get on this right away.



A $600 billion tariff dividend to tax payers could avoid recession and launch an unbelievable blue-collar boom.



Let’s get moving.



From Mr. Kudlow’s broadcast on Fox Business Network.

The Internal Revenue Service 1040 tax form.

How About a Tariff Dividend for Taxpayers?

There's more than enough tariff revenue to lower taxes, so take those $600 billion in tariff charges — and turn it over to taxpayers — right away.

How About a Tariff Dividend for Taxpayers? | The New York Sun

Home

The New York Sun

https://wp.nysun.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/the-new-york-sun-og.jpg

Judge James Boasberg at Washington, September 15, 2023.

Judge Labeled by Trump a ‘Radical Left Lunatic’ Is Dealt a Defeat by the Supreme Court — but He Refuses To Yield the Case

A flu vaccine is displayed at a pharmacy in New York.

People Who Got a Flu Vaccine 27 Percent More Likely To Get the Virus, Study Finds

Gina Carano as the bounty hunter and former rebel paratrooper Cara Dune in 'The Mandalorian'.

‘Mandalorian’ Actress Fired by Disney After Sharing Conservative Posts Scores Key Victory in Lawsuit, Will Learn Co-Stars’ Salaries 

Kamala Harris sits down with Bill Whitaker for her '60 Minutes' interview.

Embarrassment Looms for CBS News as Parent Company Hires Mediator To Settle Trump’s ‘60 Minutes’ Lawsuit

Justice Amy Coney Barrett at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library Foundation at Simi Valley, California, April 4, 2022. 

What Is Amy Coney Barrett?

Former Trump White House official Peter Navarro speaks to reporters before he heads to prison, Tuesday, March 19, 2024 at Miami.

Elon Musk Spat With Top Trump Trade Advisor Peter Navarro Goes Nuclear After Billionaire Calls Him a ‘Moron’

U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer testifies before the Senate Finance Committee on Capitol Hill, April 8, 2025. 

Senators Grill Trump’s Trade Representative Over Tariffs Ahead of 104 Percent Tariff on Chinese Goods

Venezuelan migrant Yender Romero shows the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) One app on his cell phone, which he said he used to apply for asylum in the U.S. on January 20, 2025. 

Trump Tightens Grip on Deportations With Aggressive Policies Including Hefty Fines, Property Seizures, and Reversal of Biden-Era ‘Paroles’

How About a Tariff Dividend for Taxpayers?

Please check your email.

To continue reading, please select:

Enter your email to read for FREE

Join the Sun for a PENNY A DAY

Sections

More

Sign in or Create a free account

A login link has been sent to