'Tariffs alone!' Trump again hints at eliminating income tax in Truth Social rant

President-elect Donald Trump once again toyed with the idea on Tuesday of not just implementing large-scale tariffs on foreign imports, but using them to replace the income tax system outright.

"The Tariffs, and Tariffs alone, created this vast wealth for our Country," wrote Trump on his Truth Social platform. "Then we switched over to Income Tax. We were never so wealthy as during this period. Tariffs will pay off our debt and, MAKE AMERICA WEALTHY AGAIN!"

Trump already proposed this idea on the campaign trail, but economists broadly find the proposal unworkable and warn it would lead to significant inflation on goods and energy.

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The first income taxes were enacted after the Civil War, although the Supreme Court later struck them down and the power of Congress to impose them wasn't permanently solidified until ratification of the Sixteenth Amendment in 1913. Prior to income taxation, most of the federal government's revenue came from tariffs, although this meant only a tiny fraction of the revenue collected in modern day could be raised.

It's unclear what exactly Trump means that America was wealthier during this period. By virtually any measure, the U.S. in the 19th century was less productive and had poverty rates comparable to modern India. While it's not clear how much of this was due to using tariffs versus income taxes, it is broadly agreed that the last major enactment of Congressional protective tariffs, the Smoot-Hawley legislation in the 1930s, stagnated world trade and worsened the Great Depression.

Making matters worse, Trump's tariffs might not even have the desired effect of boosting U.S. industry, as a recent report suggested China could exploit various legal quirks to get around tariffs on its exports.