In a break from decades of tax law, former President Donald Trump stated this week that the elderly shouldn’t pay taxes on Social Security.
On his Truth Social page, Trump announced the news. “SENIORS SHOULD NOT PAY TAX ON SOCIAL SECURITY!” he wrote.
Social Security payments begin to accrue at age 62; however, the longer a person waits to claim benefits, the greater the benefit, which ends at age 70 in retirement.
Social Security taxes started in 1984 when President Ronald Reagan signed legislation into law. Seniors who receive Social Security income are required to pay taxes on 50% of their program income, and, in some cases, up to 85% if their total income from other sources exceeds a specific level.
Seniors are an important group that Trump must win over. Not too long ago, he also made a plea for the non-taxation of gratuities for workers in the hospitality industry, which preceded his Social Security plan.
Trump declared during a June event in Las Vegas that he would take action to remove federal taxes from gratuities. Notably, Nevada, a state heavily dependent on the service sector, is a crucial battleground state with the largest percentage of tipped workers in the nation. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are millions of tipped workers in the United States overall, as well as over two million waiters and waitresses in particular.
Trump will need the support of Congress members for his new tax measures, which may result in a split chamber.
Rep. Angie Craig (D-MN) presented legislation earlier this year that would remove federal taxes on Social Security. There were roughly twelve additional Democrats who sponsored the measure.
To fund the law, raise the limit on wealthy individuals’ Social Security payroll tax.
Trump’s plan, without any pay-fors linked to the tax’s removal, would raise the government’s anticipated $1.9 trillion budget deficit for this fiscal year. This week, the national debt reached $35 trillion, underscoring the nation’s financial difficulties.
Should stabilization efforts fail, Social Security and Medicare would face significant deadlines in the 2030s.
The trustees of the programs estimated in May that by 2035, the combined Social Security trust fund would run out. In 2035, the trustees estimate that the Disability Insurance and Social Security trust funds will only be sufficient to pay out 83% of planned benefits.
Following Trump’s social media post, Maya MacGuineas, head of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, told the Washington Examiner, “The most critical thing we can do for seniors is to reform Social Security before the trust funds go bankrupt.” “Asking them for help won’t stop the universal benefit cut that we are already experiencing.”
Senior voters are a significant voting group in the upcoming election, and Trump has repeatedly promised them that if elected, he will not cut Social Security.
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