Trump says he loves millionaire tax, worries of political risk

President Donald Trump said he is open to the idea of higher taxes on millionaires — an idea that is being hotly debated in Republican circles — but said he worries that a levy increase could hurt the party.

"I actually love the concept, but I don't want it to be used against me politically, because I've seen people lose elections for less," Trump told TIME magazine in an interview published Friday.

"I'd be raising them on wealthy to take care of middle class. And that's—I love that," the president said.

Trump cited former President George H. W. Bush's now infamous line to "read his lips" that there would be no new taxes, a phrase that turned out to be a cudgel used against the one-term president. Trump said he would be "honored" to pay more and said the tax increases being proposed were a relatively small increase.

Republicans in recent weeks have discussed the idea of taxing the rich at a higher threshold to pay for a sweeping Republican tax bill. Creating a new 40% tax bracket for those earning more than $1 million could help raise revenue to offset the cost of the bill, as well as fend off criticisms that the legislation primarily benefits businesses and the wealthy. 

Trump has flip-flopped on the idea of a new millionaires' tax in the past week. He told reporters on Wednesday that such a tax could spur rich Americans to relocate to other countries.

"I think it would be very disruptive, because a lot of the millionaires would leave the country," Trump said in the Oval Office. "Other countries that have done it have lost a lot of people. They lose their wealthy people. That would be bad, because the wealthy people pay the tax."

Raising taxes goes against the long-standing Republican orthodoxy, espoused by groups like Americans for Tax Reform or Club for Growth. Trump's willingness to consider a tax hike for millionaires demonstrates how much he has remade the GOP in his own populist image.

Top administration officials are analyzing a new potential tax bracket. House Republicans have a proposal for a new 40% bracket for individuals who earn $1 million or more a year, while other administration officials have advocated for a threshold far higher than $1 million.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a recent interview with Bloomberg News that "everything is on the table" with regards to the tax bill.

The proposal to impose a tax hike on millionaires could generate about $400 billion over a decade, according to two new estimates provided to Bloomberg News.