Trump to propose new tax break on car loan interest

Donald Trump on Thursday will support making interest on car loans fully tax deductible, the latest in a suite of tax-cut promises the Republican presidential nominee has made in the weeks before Election Day.

Trump, in a speech to the Detroit Economic Club, will compare the plan to an existing tax deduction on mortgage interest, according to excerpts provided beforehand by the Trump campaign.

The plan “will stimulate massive domestic auto production, and make car ownership dramatically more affordable for millions of working American families,” Trump will say.

The former president will also promise to bar Chinese-made autonomous vehicles from driving on American roads if he defeats Democratic nominee Kamala Harris in the Nov. 5 election.

Trump has repeatedly accused Harris, the vice president, of copying his economic policies. But his plan to keep out Chinese cars appears to mirror a recent proposal by President Joe Biden’s Department of Commerce.

Any plan to change the tax code would have to go through Congress, which holds the power of the purse under the U.S. Constitution.

Trump has already voiced support on the campaign trail for a slew of other tax breaks, including ending taxation of service workers’ tips and seniors’ Social Security benefits.

He has also vowed to bring back a deduction on state and local taxes — which was capped by his own 2017 tax law — and further slash the corporate tax rate to 15% for companies that manufacture products in the U.S.

On Wednesday, Trump told The Wall Street Journal that he supports ending the “double taxation” of U.S. citizens living abroad.

Multiple economists and tax experts have warned that Trump’s economic plans, including his vow to impose sweeping tariffs on imported goods, would cost the federal government trillions of dollars in lost tax revenue.

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