Trump’s $2,600 ‘dividend’ for US citizens may come via tax cuts, says Treasury chief Bessent

WASHINGTON – US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said President Donald Trump’s suggestion that Americans may receive a tariff “dividend” of at least US$2,000 (S$2,600) could come via the tax cuts passed in his signature economic policy Bill earlier in 2025.

Mr Bessent was asked on ABC’s This Week about a social media post by Mr Trump on Nov 9 that derided people who oppose tariffs and said a “dividend of at least US$2,000 a person (not including high income people!) will be paid to everyone”.

He said he had not spoken to Mr Trump about this idea but “the US$2,000 dividend could come in lots of forms, in lots of ways. It could be just the tax decreases that we are seeing on the President’s agenda – no tax on tips, no tax on overtime, no tax on Social Security – deductibility on auto loans”.

Mr Trump has been stepping up his defence of his tariff regime since the Supreme Court on Nov 5

heard arguments for a suit to get them thrown out

. Several justices seemed sceptical, raising the possibility many of the levies could be overturned, forcing over US$100 billion in refunds and taking away a centrepiece of his second term.

The President has said it would be a “disaster” for the US if the court ruled against him.

Part of the case involves Mr Trump’s April 2 “Liberation Day” tariffs, which impose taxes of between 10 per cent and 50 per cent on most US imports depending on the originating country.

Mr Trump says those duties are warranted to address the longstanding national trade deficit.

One question surrounding the administration’s defence of tariffs is whether the funds raised from tariffs are de facto taxes, which Chief Justice John Roberts said have “always been the core power of Congress”.

Mr Trump cited revenue flows in his Truth Social post on Nov 9, saying the US is “taking in trillions of dollars and will soon begin paying down our enormous debt, $37 trillion”.

Asked about the comment, Mr Bessent expanded the argument. “Over the course of the next few years we could take in trillions of dollars,” he told ABC. “But the real goal of tariffs is to rebalance trade and make it more fair.” BLOOMBERG