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Trump floats 20% corporate tax rate in DC meeting with CEOs: report

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Social Links for Josh Christenson
Published June 13, 2024, 6:34 p.m. ET

Former President Donald Trump said Thursday during a meeting with top CEOs in Washington, DC, that he wanted to slash the corporate tax rate to 20% — hours after discussing trade and other policies with Republicans on Capitol Hill.

The presumptive 2024 Republican nominee held a private meeting with 80 executives to pitch the rate reduction, CNBC reported.

Republican presidential candidate, former U.S. President Donald Trump is flanked by Senate Republicans as he gives remarks to the press at the National Republican Senatorial Committee building on June 13, 2024 in Washington, DC.
Former President Donald Trump floated lowering the corporate tax rate to 20% in a Washington, D.C., meeting with top CEOs on Thursday. Getty Images

A source familiar with the discussion told the outlet that Trump, 77, pledged to trim the corporate tax from 21% — and return to economic policies that were popular in his first term if he is elected to a second, including tax cuts.

“We’re going to give you more of the same for the next four years,” one of the sources said of the 45th president’s proposed agenda.

At one point, Trump reportedly took a direct shot at his opponent, President Biden, saying: “We need a president who is at the top of his game and let’s face it, this president is not at the top of his game.”

Other sources told CNBC that Trump said he was looking to eliminate all taxes on worker tips, a proposal that he said thrilled employees in the service and hospitality sectors.

Chair and CEO of Bank of America Brian Moynihan attends the 54th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum, in Davos, Switzerland, January 18, 2024.
A source familiar with the discussion told CNBC that Trump pledged to CEOs like Bank of America’s Brian Moynihan that he was also looking to cut all taxes for tip workers. REUTERS

The CEOs — including Jamie Dimon of JPMorgan Chase, Brian Moynihan of Bank of America, Jane Fraser of Citigroup, and Tim Cook of Apple — reportedly burst out laughing when Trump relayed the purported enthusiasm for his plan.

Staten Island GOP Rep. Nicole Malliotakis told The Post earlier Thursday the former president had also mentioned eliminating tip taxes during his meeting with House Republicans on Capitol Hill.

Trump spoke to the CEOs for about an hour after current White House chief of staff Jeff Zients had talked with the group during another private session, a source told CNBC.

CEO of Chase Jamie Dimon looks on as he attends the seventh "Choose France Summit", aiming to attract foreign investors to the country, at the Chateau de Versailles, outside Paris, on May 13, 2024.
The 80 or so corporate leaders included JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon. via REUTERS
President Joe Biden speaks on April 12, 2024, in Washington. Top Biden administration officials have stepped up their outreach to CEOs and other corporate leaders to ask about what they need. The effort encroaches on the business community terrain that former President Donald Trump considers to be his home turf.
“We need a president who is at the top of his game and let’s face it, this president is not at the top of his game,” Trump told the CEOs in a dig at Biden. AP

Biden, 81, called for a 28% corporate tax rate during his State of the Union address in March — and has ragged on Trump’s signature Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which will expire at the end of next year.

“Look, I’m a capitalist,” the president told Congress. “If you want to make a million bucks — great! Just pay your fair share in taxes.”

Thursday’s meeting underscores the extent to which Trump has mended broken relationships with titans of the business world — as well as Silicon Valley — after many denounced him in the wake of the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot.