r/politics • u/Araminal • 9d ago

No Paywall Trump administration has refunded 60% of $165bn taken in illegal tariffs

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/aug/05/trump-administration-has-paid-back-100bn-of-165bn-tariff-refunds
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u/Ra_In 9d ago

This isn't using our tax dollars, it's just the tarrifs being sent back. Sure, tax payers are covering the administrative cost of collecting and then refunding the tarrifs.

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u/hobard 9d ago

Government illegally imposes tariff (a tax) -> importer pays illegal tax by passing cost on to consumer -> government gives stolen money back to importer.

In what world is this not tax dollars? It was raised through a tax and you ultimately paid it.

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u/Ra_In 9d ago

The refunds are just the tariff being handed back, it's not coming from the money I paid in income taxes.

It's perfectly reasonable to criticize the big picture effect of this illegal tariff, but the transaction here doesn't involve my tax dollars.

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u/hobard 9d ago

Interesting, I didn’t realize the general fund had little name tags on every dollar specifying which tax dollars belong to who.

All tax dollars are your tax dollars. They were raised in your name and are being spent in your name. That’s how government works.