Americans love government programmes but hate taxes. Over the past 40 years, Republicans have catered to these opposed preferences with magical thinking. They cut taxes but not spending, raising deficits in the process — exactly what conservatives promise not to do. Donald Trump is no exception. He promises a cut in corporate tax from 35 per cent to 15 per cent, along with a one-off lower tax rate to induce US companies to repatriate more than $2tn in profits held overseas. The top individual tax rate would also be cut from nearly 40 per cent to 33 per cent.
美国人喜欢政府计划，但是讨厌税收。过去40年里，共和党人以奇思妙想迎合民众这两种自相矛盾的好恶。他们削减税收，但不削减支出，结果就是增加了赤字——这恰恰是保守派承诺不会做的事情。唐纳德•特朗普(Donald Trump)也不例外。他承诺把公司税税率从35%降至15%，同时一次性调低税率，以吸引美国公司把在海外的逾2万亿美元利润汇回国内。个人所得税最高一档的税率也将由接近40%降至33%。