Former United States President Donald Trump has pledged to scrap all taxes on overtime work if re-elected to the White House.
Addressing supporters in Tucson, Arizona, on Thursday, Trump said the plan to eliminate taxes on work beyond 40 hours a week would give people greater incentive to work and make it easier for businesses to hire.
“The people who work overtime are among the hardest-working citizens in our country. And for too long, no one in Washington has been looking out for them. Those are the people, they really work,” Trump said at his first campaign event since his high-stakes first debate with Vice President Kamala Harris.
“They’re police officers, nurses, factory workers, construction workers, truck drivers and machine operators. It’s time for the working man and woman to finally catch a break and that’s what we are doing because this is a good one.”
Trump’s pledge is the latest in a series of proposals for “gigantic” cuts to taxes.
The Republican candidate has also promised to extend income tax cuts he signed into law in 2017, eliminate taxes on tips in the service industry, end taxes on social security, and lower the corporate tax rate to 15 percent.
Trump did not provide details on how he would fund his latest tax plan, which would likely significantly add to the country’s fast-growing $35 trillion national debt.
“You know, I went to some economists, great ones. And I said, ‘What do you think?’ And they said, ‘It would be unbelievable. You’ll get a whole new workforce by doing that,’” Trump said.
Harris has also laid out plans to lower taxes for working and middle-classes, including a $25,000 tax credit for first-time homebuyers, a $50,000 tax deduction for new small businesses, and a $6,000 child tax credit.
The Democratic nominee has also pledged to raise taxes on wealthier Americans, including by raising the top rate of personal income tax to 39.6 percent, lifting the corporate tax rate to 28 percent, and increasing capital gains tax to 28 percent tax for households making more than $1m annually.
On Thursday, the Harris campaign accused Trump of being “desperate” and saying anything to get people to vote for him.
“If he takes power again, he will only look out for himself and his billionaire buddies and their big corporations,” campaign spokesperson Joseph Costello said in a statement.
