Trump suggested replacing income tax with tariffs. How the 2017 tax cuts raised the debt and why 2025 is key.

We can be certain that moderators in tonight’s CNN debate between Joe Biden and Donald Trump will feature a question related to taxes and not just because the 2017 tax cuts orchestrated by Trump have led to record deficits.

Last week, Trump suggested “entirely replacing the federal income tax with new tariffs.”

This chart shows why such a change would explode the deficit, make imports unaffordable, or both.

In other words, the consequences of this not-well-thought-out...