John,
Donald Trump is rolling out a new tax scam designed for the global ultra-rich. It is called the Platinum Card. For a $5 million fee, wealthy foreign nationals would be allowed to live in the United States for up to 270 days a year while paying zero U.S. taxes on income earned abroad.[1]
This is just a pay-to-play tax dodge for millionaires and billionaires. It is a loophole that lets the ultra-rich buy their way out of the rules everyone else follows.
Under current law, people who effectively live in the United States are supposed to pay U.S. taxes on their worldwide income. Trump’s Platinum Card would blow a hole straight through that rule. Wealthy investors could enjoy life in the U.S., use our infrastructure, schools, healthcare system, and financial markets, and still avoid paying a single dollar of tax on millions in foreign income.
The math makes clear who this scam is for. At the top tax rate of 37%, a person earning roughly $13,500,000 in foreign income could make back the entire $5 million Platinum Card fee in just one year by dodging U.S. taxes. IRS data shows that taxpayers with adjusted gross income above $10 million average more than $2,300,000 in foreign income annually. Over time, the tax savings easily outweigh the upfront cost.
Trump is selling this scheme as “revenue-raising.” It is not. Over a decade, this program would drain billions from the U.S. tax base by exempting foreign income that is currently taxed. It does nothing to create jobs or investment in the United States. It simply rewards globally mobile elites for keeping their money offshore while spending most of the year here.
Tell Congress to block the Trump Platinum Card tax scam and stop selling tax loopholes to the global elite.
This proposal exposes exactly how Trump thinks about the tax code. Working families pay taxes with every paycheck. Immigrants and workers face endless red-tape requirements. But if you are rich enough, Trump will sell you a special card that lets you opt out of the rules entirely.
The Platinum Card does not encourage innovation or real economic activity. It simply lowers the cost of parking foreign wealth offshore while enjoying life in America. That is not economic growth. That is legalized tax avoidance.
Congress has a responsibility to stop this scheme before it becomes law. Allowing wealthy individuals to live here most of the year while paying zero dollars in tax on millions in income would deepen inequality and undermine the integrity of the tax system.
The United States should be cracking down on tax avoidance by the wealthy, not inventing new loopholes for them. We need a tax system where billionaires and millionaires pay what they owe, not one where they can buy their way out.
Take action now and tell Congress to stop the Trump Platinum Card tax scam.
Thank you for standing up for tax fairness.
David Kass
Executive Director
Americans for Tax Fairness Action Fund
[1]
Trump's Platinum Visa: A Tax Break for Global High Earners?