White House denies it’s considering carbon tax, value-added tax

The White House on Tuesday said it’s not looking at a carbon tax or a value-added tax (VAT), pushing back on a report that it was considering the new taxes as part of a tax reform plan.

“As we have said many times, the President’s team is hearing input from experts on all sides of the tax reform debate as we formulate what will ultimately be the President’s plan to enact the first significant tax reform since 1986,” White House deputy press secretary Lindsay Walters said in a statement.

“As of now, neither a carbon tax nor a VAT are under consideration.”

{mosads}The Washington Post reported Tuesday that the Trump administration was considering creating a carbon tax and a VAT as part of tax reform. Trump has made tax reform one of his top priorities and will need to find ways to raise revenue if he wants to pay for tax cuts.

Carbon taxes and VATs are ideas that many Republicans have criticized. 

Americans for Tax Reform President Grover Norquist tweeted after the Post article was published that “adding a VAT to personal & corporate income taxes makes as much sense as swallowing a third tapeworm to limit the appetite of the first two.”