“If you are a business....”
Much if not most of the tariffs were paid by consumers, not businesses. My wife spent $30 or $40 on yarn she bought from Denmark. Amazingly enough, she didn’t expense it.
But even if it WAS expensed, why would it merit a punitive 100% windfall tax? It wouldn’t constitute a windfall, rather it is merely a return of money that unlawfully seized. The only one who got a windfall was the federal government getting to use free money for a year or so. Tax it a marginal rate? Sure, no problem.
There is no fairness or legal basis for grabbing extra money just because the feds screwed up, and calling it a windfall tax would be an illegal way of grabbing the same money that the Supreme Court already said was illegally seized.
“illegally seized”
The importers choose to import and to pay.
“illegal” That’s what the Supreme Court said.
There was no seizing that I’m aware of.
“why would it merit a punitive 100% windfall tax?”
pre-Trump tariff era
$70 item
$5 legal tariff
$30 other costs such as transportation
$120 wholesale selling price
$15 profit
Trump tariff era
$70 item
$5 legal tariff
$20 Trump add-on
$30 other costs such as transportation
$140 wholesale selling price
$15 normal profit
$30 rebate (received back mid 2026)
$45 total profit on item
That $45 total is $30 more than the $15 normal profit. The rebate made for a windfall profit of $30.
Remember the 2025 claims here on FR and elsewhere (largely true) that the consumers paid the tariffs?
You wrote:
“My wife spent $30 or $40 on yarn she bought from Denmark. Amazingly enough, she didn’t expense it.”
I previously wrote in post 18:
A windfall profits withholding tax could have been imposed and collected at the Treasury unless an exemption form (for say personal importation) was filed.