President Trump says he is considering offering a REBATE to Americans of a certain income level

[mystery-ak]

https://twitter.com/townhallcom/status/1948746810740076993

[mystery-ak]

Trump Floats Rebate for Americans Thanks to Tariff Revenue

Nick Gilbertson 25 Jul 2025

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Friday floated the idea of potential rebates for Americans with certain incomes, thanks to the tens of billions of dollars coming into the United States through his tariff policies.

While Trump gaggled with reporters on the South Lawn before departing for Scotland, a reporter asked Trump about potential rebates because of the tariff revenue.

“We’re thinking about that actually, we have so much money coming in. We’re thinking about a little rebate, but the big thing we want to do is pay down debt,” Trump said.

“We have so much money coming in from tariffs that a little rebate for people of a certain income level might be very nice,” he added.

In June, the Treasury Department brought in a $27 billion budget surplus, which was fueled by his tariff policies, beating out forecasts of a $50 billion deficit, as Breitbart News Economic Editor John Carney noted:

    Monthly surpluses typically occur in April, when many Americans file their taxes. Surpluses are also common in January and September. A June surplus is highly unusual.

    Much of the improvement stemmed from a 301 percent increase in tariff collections compared to June of last year. Customs duties totaled $27 billion in June, up from $23 billion in May and more than quadruple the $6.7 billion collected a year earlier. For the fiscal year to date, tariff revenues have reached $113 billion, an 86% increase over the same period in 2024.

    Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has said that he expects tariffs to bring in as much as $300 billion in revenues this year.

Between January 1 and July 24, the United States brought in $104 billion in tariff revenue, which is “115.2% more than the same time last year,” Politico reported.

Trump’s tariffs have led to a flurry of trade deals with the United Kingdom, Vietnam, Japan, the Philippines, and India, while he has also hammered out a framework with China. Over recent weeks, Trump has begun sending letters to countries informing them of the duties they will pay to export goods to America, effective August 1. Countries can open up negotiations by removing trade barriers and tariffs on American goods, therefore allowing U.S. companies to access their markets.

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2025/07/25/trump-floats-rebate-for-americans-thanks-to-tariff-revenue/

[libertybele]

Pay. Down. Our. Debt.

[Timber Rattler]

So how is that fair or even Constitutional?  If Biden or Obama suggested such a thing, then  Conservatives would be all over them.

[LMAO]

So how is that fair or even Constitutional?  If Biden or Obama suggested such a thing, then  Conservatives would be all over them.

He’s trying to find ways to boost his sinking poll numbers

He did the same thing during Covid.

[libertybele]

He’s trying to find ways to boost his sinking poll numbers

He did the same thing during Covid.

??  Why oh why would anyone believe poll numbers?  Polls have been proven to be quite unreliable for a long time.

[libertybele]

So how is that fair or even Constitutional?  If Biden or Obama suggested such a thing, then  Conservatives would be all over them.

Rebate for certain incomes??  So .......... only certain Americans are deserving? 

If we truly have so much revenue coming in because of the tariffs, why wouldn't it all go to paying down the debt??  I could be wrong but wasn't that one reason for tariffs to begin with?

[Smokin Joe]

Pay. Down. Our. Debt.

[IsailedawayfromFR]

Pay. Down. Our. Debt.

Yep.

Trump is banking on much lower interest rates and a lot of money from tariffs.

The rebate is likely to be used to cover some of the costs to consumers from higher prices due to more American-made products.

[roamer_1]

Yep.

Trump is banking on much lower interest rates and a lot of money from tariffs.

The rebate is likely to be used to cover some of the costs to consumers from higher prices due to more American-made products.

Nah. the economy is still sluggish, and he wants to kick it in the ass...
Typical Republican strategy... Big corporate tax cut, followed by throwing a thousand bucks at the trailer court...

[Timber Rattler]

The rebate is likely to be used to cover some of the costs to consumers from higher prices due to more American-made products AND TARIFFs.

Fixed.

[bilo]

“We’re thinking about that actually, we have so much money coming in. We’re thinking about a little rebate, but the big thing we want to do is pay down debt,” Trump said.

Pres. Trump is see his plan coming together and has a big heart, but he does know the debt is the issue.

FWIW, if we want to help those at the bottom of the economic ladder we should increase the number of required hours for work to get aid and keep deporting all the low wage illegals.

[Bigun]

Fixed.

No! Afraid not!  Tariffs only apply to foreign imports.

[Timber Rattler]

No! Afraid not!  Tariffs only apply to foreign imports.

A tariff is a tax so who ultimately pays it?  Not the overseas company or the exporting country, but the American consumer, to whom that cost is passed on.

[IsailedawayfromFR]

A tariff is a tax so who ultimately pays it?  Not the overseas company or the exporting country, but the American consumer, to whom that cost is passed on.

Tariffs are not a tax . It is a source of revenue for a country to protect its indigenous industries.

It does cause, however, increase in cost of goods as domestic products may be more expensive, at least over the short term.

That is the rationale to offer a rebate to consumers.

[roamer_1]

Tariffs are not a tax . It is a source of revenue for a country to protect its indigenous industries.

Tomato, tomato...

[Timber Rattler]

Tariffs are not a tax.

Uh, yes it is.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tariff

https://taxfoundation.org/taxedu/glossary/tariffs/

https://www.investopedia.com/terms/t/tariff.asp

https://taxpolicycenter.org/taxvox/what-tariff-and-who-pays-it

https://www.jpmorgan.com/insights/global-research/current-events/us-tariffs

Good Lord, the denial is strong when it comes to all things Trump.

That is the rationale to offer a rebate to consumers.

To SOME consumers but NOT all.  So how is that fair?

Trump is just taking a page out of the old Democrat playbook here.  Throw a few federal bucks at low or no wage folks and buy their praise and (hopefully) votes for whatever he wants next in Congress.

[Bigun]

A tariff is a tax so who ultimately pays it?  Not the overseas company or the exporting country, but the American consumer, to whom that cost is passed on.

That's all true but applies ONLY to any foreign made crap they might buy! When the price goes up sales go down and market share takes a hit.

[deb]

Pay. Down. Our. Debt.

Yes, yes, YES!
I wonder if he’s even listening…

[Timber Rattler]

That's all true but applies ONLY to any foreign made crap they might buy! When the price goes up sales go down and market share takes a hit.

Except that about 90% of the "crap" people buy, or have to buy (including necessities), is foreign made, and that cost is passed along to the consumer.

So how will the market share take a hit when there is no other viable domestic competition (at the moment, if ever)?

[IsailedawayfromFR]

Uh, yes it is.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tariff

https://taxfoundation.org/taxedu/glossary/tariffs/

https://www.investopedia.com/terms/t/tariff.asp

https://taxpolicycenter.org/taxvox/what-tariff-and-who-pays-it

https://www.jpmorgan.com/insights/global-research/current-events/us-tariffs

Good Lord, the denial is strong when it comes to all things Trump.

To SOME consumers but NOT all.  So how is that fair?

Trump is just taking a page out of the old Democrat playbook here.  Throw a few federal bucks at low or no wage folks and buy their praise and (hopefully) votes for whatever he wants next in Congress.

Pretty easy to explain:  There is no revenue when there is nothing imported.

And denial is a river in Egypt.

[catfish1957]

Trump is showing his former democratic stripes again. 

Pay down the freakin' debt.

[Timber Rattler]

Pretty easy to explain:  There is no revenue when there is nothing imported.

And denial is a river in Egypt.

Nice deflection, but tariffs ARE taxes, by definition.  Period.  You claimed they weren't.

[catfish1957]

Nice deflection, but tariffs ARE taxes, by definition.  Period.  You claimed they weren't.

I detest tariffs too, but in this case, Trump is pulling from the Coolidge playbook, and applying these as a negotiative tool. In the perfect world, these should never happen, but when other sovereign nations screw you over on trade policies for decades, desperate situations require desperate measures. 

Let's also not forget that the U.S. has basically subsidized security in the world since about as long as I remember.  I kind of view these as retroactive payment.  Not 100% sure we'll see the full intent of Trump as a success.  But what we were doing was accelerating our demise.

[Timber Rattler]

Milton Friedman, Landon Lecture, Kansas State University, April 27, 1978

https://www.k-state.edu/landon/speakers/milton-friedman/transcript.html

"We call a tariff a protective measure. It does protect; it protects the consumer very well against one thing. It protects the consumer against low prices. And yet we call it protection."

[IsailedawayfromFR]

Nice deflection, but tariffs ARE taxes, by definition.  Period.  You claimed they weren't.

All revenue collections are not taxes.

You really should visit what the government budget website says tariffs are, by definition.  Here's the CBO in 2024.
 
Pay attention to the revenue collections portion.

https://www.cbo.gov/system/files/2025-03/61181-Federal-Budget.pdf

[catfish1957]

Milton Friedman, Landon Lecture, Kansas State University, April 27, 1978

https://www.k-state.edu/landon/speakers/milton-friedman/transcript.html

"We call a tariff a protective measure. It does protect; it protects the consumer very well against one thing. It protects the consumer against low prices. And yet we call it protection."

I am very aware and familiar with  Friedman's manifestos along the lines of tariffs, and while I fully agree in principle, Friedman was terribly naive in cases when and where playing fields were purposely and almost criminally imbalanced with currency manipulation, and other shell games and ploys.

I have more faith in ol' Cal, than ol' Milton.

[IsailedawayfromFR]

I detest tariffs too, but in this case, Trump is pulling from the Coolidge playbook, and applying these as a negotiative tool. In the perfect world, these should never happen, but when other sovereign nations screw you over on trade policies for decades, desperate situations require desperate measures. 

Let's also not forget that the U.S. has basically subsidized security in the world since about as long as I remember.  I kind of view these as retroactive payment.  Not 100% sure we'll see the full intent of Trump as a success.  But what we were doing was accelerating our demise.

All true.  Level the playing field, bring back jobs to Americans at the expense of other countries, and eventually the tariffs will decline in order to serve the interests of America and those countries.

A Win/Win.

The biggest example to watch is how the EU tariffs will eventually fallout on imported cars made in US that the EU slapped a 10% import tariff while the US only imposed a 2.5% tariff on a European-made car.

[Timber Rattler]

A Win/Win.

Just like Smoot-Hawley?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smoot%E2%80%93Hawley_Tariff_Act

[roamer_1]

Pretty easy to explain:  There is no revenue when there is nothing imported.

And denial is a river in Egypt.

So a sales tax is not  tax either... C'mon man.... You're picking at nits... Especially when a good portion of everybody's everything is imported.

[IsailedawayfromFR]

Just like Smoot-Hawley?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smoot%E2%80%93Hawley_Tariff_Act

Do you even read what you post?

but the market reality was that the United States had been running a trade account surplus. Although manufactured goods imports were rising, manufactured exports were rising even faster.

Guess what?  We are not having a trade surplus for many years, so these conditions now are quite different, aren't they?

And I guess you believe a tariff is still a tax when the CBO classifies it otherwise, too?

[IsailedawayfromFR]

So a sales tax is not  tax either... C'mon man.... You're picking at nits... Especially when a good portion of everybody's everything is imported.

And that portion is falling every day now, isn't it?

Think Japan and Korea will up car imports into the US or build here?

Think we need to buy expensive Australian beef when we have our own here?

In almost all cases, there have been smaller, if not greatly smaller, import tariffs for their goods compared to what their own import tariffs have been on our goods, causing American goods to suffer greatly.

That is changing as we speak.

Why are you arguing against buying American?

[IsailedawayfromFR]

European cars will now have tariffs 6X higher that they were.  Who wants a BMW from there now?

Trump announces EU trade deal with 15% tariffs
President Donald Trump announced Sunday that the U.S. reached a trade deal with the European Union, following pivotal discussions with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen days before the Aug. 1 tariff deadline.

Trump said that the deal imposes a 15% tariff on most European goods to the U.S., including cars.

Some products, including aircrafts and their components, some chemicals and pharmaceuticals, will not be subject to tariffs, von der Leyen said in a briefing after the agreement was announced. She also said that the new 15% tariff rate would not be added to any tariffs already in effect.

The 15% tariff rate is lower than the 30% rate Trump had previously threatened against the United States’ largest trading partner, but higher than the 10% baseline tariffs the EU was hoping for.

Trump said that the 27-member bloc also agreed to purchase $750 billion worth of U.S. energy and invest an additional $600 billion worth of investments into the U.S. above current levels.
https://www.cnbc.com/2025/07/27/trump-european-union-eu-trade-tariffs.html

[libertybele]

And that portion is falling every day now, isn't it?

Think Japan and Korea will up car imports into the US or build here?

Think we need to buy expensive Australian beef when we have our own here?

In almost all cases, there have been smaller, if not greatly smaller, import tariffs for their goods compared to what their own import tariffs have been on our goods, causing American goods to suffer greatly.

That is changing as we speak.

Why are you arguing against buying American?

As far as beef goes, there has been an alarming decline in cattle ranchers and sheep industry.  (This is based on 2022 stats so I'm assuming the decline has increased).  How can this be remedied or can it be remedied?  Beef prices continue to  rise and how many more ranchers  are going to call  it quits?

............The new cattle and calves census shows America lost nearly 107,000 beef cattle farms and ranches during the past five years, representing a loss rate of over 21,000 cattle producers per year. It also shows the U.S. beef cow herd has declined another 2.5 million cows, representing an 8% reduction in the beef cow herd since 2017, and resulting in the smallest beef cow herd in decades.
As for the sheep industry, the new sheep and lambs census reveals that nearly 500 full-time sheep producers (those with a herd size of at least 100 head) have exited the industry since 2017, and the U.S. sheep inventory, at only 5.1 million head in 2022, likewise represents the smallest U.S. sheep herd in decades.
“While the U.S. experienced widespread drought beginning in mid-2020, the drought only contributed to the cattle and sheep industries’ steep decline that started four decades ago,” said R-CALF USA CEO Bill Bullard.
Bullard said the U.S. lost nearly 558,000 beef cattle operations from 1980 until the previous 2017 census, representing a loss rate of over 15,000 producers per year. And now it’s lost nearly 665,000 through 2022.
“That means we’ve now lost well over half of all U.S. beef cattle farms and ranches in just over a generation and more than five of every 10 beef cattle farmers and ranchers in business in 1980 are gone today,” continued Bullard.....................

https://www.thefencepost.com/news/new-census-shows-cattle-and-sheep-industries-continue-steep-declines/

[Timber Rattler]

Guess what?  We are not having a trade surplus for many years, so these conditions now are quite different, aren't they?

Not really.  A tariff is a tax, and a tax is a tax, despite the linguistic hair-splitting.

And I guess you believe a tariff is still a tax when the CBO classifies it otherwise, too?

Uh, CBO defines a tariff as a "customs duty": 

https://www.cbo.gov/system/files/2024-09/60692-Tariffs.pdf

Page 4: What Are Tariffs? Duties levied on goods and services imported from other countries are called tariffs or customs duties. The two terms are interchangeable in this presentation. U.S. Customs and Border Protection assesses and collects tariffs from importers when their products arrive at a U.S. port

And what is a "customs duty"?

Why, it's a TAX, as described by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection:

https://www.cbp.gov/travel/international-visitors/know-before-you-visit/customs-duty-information

Customs Duty is a tariff or tax imposed on goods when transported across international borders. The purpose of Customs Duty is to protect each country's economy, residents, jobs, environment, etc., by controlling the flow of goods, especially restrictive and prohibited goods, into and out of the country.

BTW, you might want to be careful citing the CBO...it predicts that Trump's tariff's are going to shrink the U.S. economy.

https://www.cbo.gov/system/files/2025-06/61389-Tariff-Effects.pdf

CBO’s assessment is that the changes in tariffs will reduce the size of the U.S. economy. That effect would differ year by year; on average, from 2025 to 2035, the tariff changes would reduce the rate of real growth in gross domestic product (GDP) by 0.06 percentage points per year. By 2035, CBO estimates, the level of real GDP will be 0.6 percent lower than it was in CBO’s economic forecast from January 2025. That reduction in output reflects both negative and positive effects: the negative effects of higher tariffs through channels such as reduced investment and productivity, and the positive effects of additional revenues from tariffs, which would reduce federal borrowing and increase the funds available for private investment.

The increases in tariffs will make consumer goods and capital goods (the physical assets that businesses use to produce goods and services) more expensive, which will reduce the purchasing power of U.S. consumers and businesses. Those increases in costs will put temporary upward pressure on inflation. In CBO’s estimation, the policies analyzed here will increase the average annual rate of inflation, as measured by the price index for personal consumption expenditures, by roughly 0.4 percentage points over 2025 and 2026 relative to the agency’s January 2025 economic forecast. As a result, by 2026, the level of that price index will be 0.9 percent higher. After 2026, the tariffs will not have additional significant effects on prices.

[DCPatriot]

IIRC, some BMW models are already assembled here in the United States, which was an original strategic intent...creating jobs for Americans.

[IsailedawayfromFR]

As far as beef goes, there has been an alarming decline in cattle ranchers and sheep industry.  (This is based on 2022 stats so I'm assuming the decline has increased).  How can this be remedied or can it be remedied?  Beef prices continue to  rise and how many more ranchers  are going to call  it quits?

............The new cattle and calves census shows America lost nearly 107,000 beef cattle farms and ranches during the past five years, representing a loss rate of over 21,000 cattle producers per year. It also shows the U.S. beef cow herd has declined another 2.5 million cows, representing an 8% reduction in the beef cow herd since 2017, and resulting in the smallest beef cow herd in decades.
As for the sheep industry, the new sheep and lambs census reveals that nearly 500 full-time sheep producers (those with a herd size of at least 100 head) have exited the industry since 2017, and the U.S. sheep inventory, at only 5.1 million head in 2022, likewise represents the smallest U.S. sheep herd in decades.
“While the U.S. experienced widespread drought beginning in mid-2020, the drought only contributed to the cattle and sheep industries’ steep decline that started four decades ago,” said R-CALF USA CEO Bill Bullard.
Bullard said the U.S. lost nearly 558,000 beef cattle operations from 1980 until the previous 2017 census, representing a loss rate of over 15,000 producers per year. And now it’s lost nearly 665,000 through 2022.
“That means we’ve now lost well over half of all U.S. beef cattle farms and ranches in just over a generation and more than five of every 10 beef cattle farmers and ranchers in business in 1980 are gone today,” continued Bullard.....................

https://www.thefencepost.com/news/new-census-shows-cattle-and-sheep-industries-continue-steep-declines/

I know that quite well as I raise Black Angus cattle.

Prices now are at record levels at the auction barns.

[IsailedawayfromFR]

IIRC, some BMW models are already assembled here in the United States, which was an original strategic intent...creating jobs for Americans.

Yes, same goes for Mercedes.  The Merc the wife drives was made in Alabama.

[libertybele]

I know that quite well as I raise Black Angus cattle.

Prices now are at record levels at the auction barns.

Ok, so what will it take to increase cattle ranches and lower beef prices?? 

I prefer certified Black Angus beef over all other beef, right now we're settling for Braveheart beef which is fairlycomparable but not as 'beefy' tasting nor tender.  There's only one market around here that sells Black Angus and it's about a 45 minute drive. We haven't made that trip in quite awhile.

[roamer_1]

And that portion is falling every day now, isn't it?

No, I don't believe it is.

Think Japan and Korea will up car imports into the US or build here?

In the course of three short years? They'll starve our market and try to sell it elsewhere. It's all they can do. Trying to stuff a facility in the ground and hire a work force will take longer than Tumpy will be in office.

Think we need to buy expensive Australian beef when we have our own here?

We DON'T have our own right now. The American herd is way down, and likely to stay that way for at least two more years of building.

In almost all cases, there have been smaller, if not greatly smaller, import tariffs for their goods compared to what their own import tariffs have been on our goods, causing American goods to suffer greatly.

So what?

That is changing as we speak.

Why are you arguing against buying American?

Because it is hokey bullcrap. A bunch of promises that mean nothing, and in the mean time, jacking up the cost at the register when inflation is already hitting people hard, and likely to cause shortages again, sommore, when hings STILL ain't leveled out from the last time he pulled this shit.

[IsailedawayfromFR]

Ok, so what will it take to increase cattle ranches and lower beef prices?? 

I prefer certified Black Angus beef over all other beef, right now we're settling for Braveheart beef which is fairlycomparable but not as 'beefy' tasting nor tender.  There's only one market around here that sells Black Angus and it's about a 45 minute drive. We haven't made that trip in quite awhile.

To start with, what is hurting things is both costs and inventory.  It does not help that the screw-worm which had been eradicated all the way down to Panama has been making a comeback and finding its way north all the way into Mexico.  This is a killer of cattle(and humans as well), and has caused a cessation of beef imports to lessen risk to the US herds.  This causes inventory to remain depressed.

Inventory is down due to massive fires in the Texas panhandle, drought and the record prices now being experienced that cause cattlemen to sell calves instead of using them for restocking.  My own auction prices have almost tripled over past 5 years, and since cow business is a thin margin, one must take advantage while one can.

Feed prices are very high, and it would be good to stop the insanity of turning our corn into automobile fuel and into food for humans and livestock instead.

I think the AG Secretary is addressing these things as she is not a political hack but a real honest-to-goodness cow-woman.

Look for improvements over time, but for continued higher prices at present.

[cato potatoe]

??  Why oh why would anyone believe poll numbers?  Polls have been proven to be quite unreliable for a long time.

Trump believes them.  And his salesmanship notwithstanding, I think he realizes this EU deal will increase prices on consumers. 

[DefiantMassRINO]

Instead of sending rebate checks, how about the Government not confiscating the money from taxpayers in the first place?