According to a report by Newsweek, at the 2025 Republican Issues Conference on Monday, Trump advocated a tariff-focused economic policy, suggesting it as an alternative to income tax. He believes this approach will increase American wealth.
Speaking at Trump National Doral Miami, Trump said, “America is going to be very rich again, and it’s going to happen very quickly.” He argued for a return to a tariff-based system, saying, “Instead of taxing our citizens to make foreign countries rich, we should put tariffs on foreign countries to make our citizens rich.”
Trump cited the period between 1870 and 1913 as a historical example of American prosperity under a tariff-focused system, claiming that it was “the most prosperous period in the history of the United States, relatively speaking.” He mentioned the Tariff Commission of 1887 and its role in managing revenue generated from tariffs. “They set up the great Tariff Commission of 1887, and this commission had one function: what to do with all the money that was taken from us,” Trump said. He further added, “Teddy Roosevelt was the beneficiary, […] he was given a lot of wealth and that was all created through tariffs, we had no income tax, the income tax came in 1913.”
Trump has previously suggested eliminating the federal income tax, possibly replacing it entirely with tariffs. Currently, tariffs contribute only 2% of federal revenue. It is unclear whether Trump intends to eliminate corporate and payroll taxes, or just the individual income tax, which makes up about half of the $5 trillion in annual federal revenue.
According to Newsweek’s report, a small percentage of Americans consider taxes a major financial problem, and while many believe their taxes are too high, fewer people feel strongly about it than in previous years.
Earlier, Trump announced plans to establish a new government agency, the External Revenue Service (ERS), whose job would be to collect tariffs, duties and other revenues from foreign sources.If Donald Trump is to be believed, Americans will no longer have to pay income tax. Here’s what the US President wants
