The same plan was central to his economic policies while he was in the White House. In 2018, tariffs were imposed on steel, aluminum, washing machines, solar panels and a variety of Chinese goods; the overall trade deficit grew by $68.8 billion or 12.5%.

Trump plans to increase tariffs further, believing high-paying manufacturing jobs will materialize. But it’s fundamentally flawed and comparable to the 1930 Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act where tariffs were raised across the board. Aimed at protecting domestic manufacturing and farmers while limiting job losses, it had the opposite effect. The tariff hikes wound up choking off world trade and is now widely blamed for worsening the Great Depression. If Trump wins in November, a much more aggressive approach on tariffs is anticipated, including a blanket 10% on nearly all imports and 60% on Chinese goods. On its own, the Chinese tariff could increase annual American household costs by $1,950.

Replacing the federal income tax with a flat tax is not a new idea. The Republicans’ Fair Tax Act, first introduced in 1999, claims to “Eliminate the IRS” and appeals to those Americans who love to hate the tax agency. It’s believed a flat tax of about 30%, collected on everything we buy (groceries, cars, homes, services), would be needed to generate the same amount of tax revenue. One analysis found that most Americans will pay more tax, except the top 5% of earners. Worse yet, the flat tax leaves low- and middle-income people significantly worse off since a flat tax burdens them more; every dollar they pay equates to a much larger portion of their total income.

And a flat tax won’t eliminate the IRS, but it could increase the state’s tax reporting and collection expenses. Revenue collection, tax compliance and taxpayer advocates still need to remain in place for estate, gift and excise taxes. It’s time we look at what Trump’s tariff and tax plan actually means: Only the rich benefit.

Born and raised in Bountiful, with 25-plus years experience in audit, accounting, compliance, risk assessment and data analysis, Catherine Voutaz is currently running for Utah state auditor. She worked for over 10 years at the IRS, graduated from Weber State University and continued her graduate education in the Master of Accountancy program with an emphasis on taxation at UNR. Catherine is the current president of the Women’s Democratic Club of Utah and lives in Herriman with her husband.