Former President Trump said he would consider allowing active military personnel, veterans, police officers, and firefighters to claim exempt status on their tax returns.
On an October 18 episode of the Maintaining With Tyrus podcast, the Republican presidential nominee was asked if such a measure could be used as an alternative recruitment incentive. “It’s something I would think about,” Trump said.
Trump’s comments continue a pattern he has adopted during his campaign of promising tax breaks as a central component in courting certain constituencies.
In addition to proposing the elimination of taxes on gratuities in front of service industry workers in Las Vegas in June, Trump pledged to make interest on car loans tax deductible while speaking October 10 at the Detroit Economic Club in Michigan and appealed to the victims of recent hurricanes by saying he would allow taxpayers to write off the cost of purchasing generators in an October 11 post on Truth Social.
Trump also released a video October 10 addressed to American voters overseas in which he vowed to end what he called the “double taxation” of citizens living abroad.
The United States is one of the few countries that taxes citizens on worldwide income, regardless of where they are based. While there are provisions available to Americans living abroad, including an earned income exclusion of up to $126,000 per person and a tax credit for foreign-source income, advocacy groups have called the potential for any duplication of tax liability unfair.
Other Trump campaign promises include the elimination of taxes on overtime pay and Social Security benefits for senior citizens.
The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget estimates that Trump’s tax proposals — not including his recent plans regarding car loan interest, generators, and overseas residents — would increase the fiscal deficit by $7.5 trillion over 10 years.