Donald Trump’s economic policies will disproportionately hit America’s poorest households, which will pay the biggest chunk of a $500bn-a-year burden should the Republican nominee win and introduce tariffs on all US imports, according to Peterson Institute economists.
Trump plans to impose a 10 per cent levy on all US imports and a 60 per cent tax on goods coming from China. The tariffs will fund his plans to extend a series of tax cuts, which he introduced while president in 2017, beyond 2025.
The Washington-based think-tank’s research, published on Monday, said both policies were “sharply regressive tax policy changes, shifting tax burdens away from the well-off and towards lower-income members of society”.