With less than a month to Election Day, former President Donald Trump on Thursday announced a new tax break proposal.
Speaking at the Detroit Economic Club, the Republican presidential nominee said he would make the interest paid on car loans tax deductible.
“That’s going to revolutionize your industry,” he said. “This will stimulate massive domestic auto production and make car ownership dramatically more affordable for millions and millions of working American families. This is a phenomenal thing, if I do say so myself."
Detroit is home to automakers General Motors, Ford Motor Co. and Netherlands-based Stellantis N.V., owner of Chrysler. The United Auto Workers union has endorsed Harris, but Michigan remains fully in play, with Trump gaining ground over the past week and narrowing Harris’ lead in the state to 1.1 percentage points in the latest polling average compiled by analyst Nate Silver.
Interest deductions for car loans as well as credit card and other consumer debt were wiped out as part of the 1986 tax overhaul during the Reagan administration. Trump offered no price tag for the proposal, which would require action by Congress.
The last time lawmakers tried something similar was on a temporary tax break, authored by former Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski, D-Md., that initially passed the Senate as part of the 2009 Great Recession-era stimulus package.
Mikulski’s amendment would have allowed car buyers to write off interest expenses on loans worth up to $49,500 for new cars purchased from late 2008 through the following year. The benefit was limited to households earning up to $250,000 — and $125,000 for single tax-filers — and scored as an $8.5 billion cost at the time. It was dropped in conference negotiations with the House. (Roll Call)
The proposal comes after he also pledged this week to address the double taxation of Americans living abroad, saying he supports ending the practice.