Republican nominee Donald Trump said his plan to renew expiring tax cuts would pay for itself by spurring economic growth as he highlighted his agenda on taxes in a visit to a key swing state in November's election.
"Growth, we're gonna have tremendous growth," Trump said when asked how he would pay for those tax cuts during a campaign stop in Las Vegas.
The former president has said he will renew tax cuts from his 2017 tax law that are set to expire next year — a centerpiece of his economic agenda which has won him support from business leaders and many on Wall Street.
But extending those cuts carries a $4.6 trillion price tag, and risks further growing a federal deficit Republicans have long vowed to tame.
Trump has also promoted additional tax cuts — including eliminating federal taxes on tipped wages, which was the focus of his event Friday at a Mexican-Italian restaurant in Las Vegas. The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget estimated that such an exemption would cost around $100 to $200 billion over a decade.
Trump said he believed the policy would help win him support from workers in Las Vegas, where hospitality remains the dominant industry, and accused his Democratic rival, Kamala Harris, of pushing tax policies that would place more burdens on workers and small businesses.
"We're going to let you keep 100% of your income and not be harassed," Trump said, calling his pitch the "biggest promise" restaurant workers have "had in a long time."
He assailed Harris for also adopting the no-taxes-on-tips proposal, claiming that she was simply echoing his policy for political reasons and would not follow through.
At a rally later Friday in Glendale, Arizona, Trump reiterated his view that Harris wouldn't achieve the goal. "It'll never happen with her; it's guaranteed to happen with me, no tax on tips," he said.
