(Sept 6): US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump pledged to cut the corporate tax rate, slash regulations and audit the federal government, embracing an idea proposed by billionaire backer Elon Musk, as he pitched his agenda to Wall Street and corporate leaders in New York.

“I am promising low taxes, low regulations, low energy costs, low interest rates, and secure the borders — low, low, low crime,” Trump said on Thursday at the Economic Club of New York, seeking to draw a contrast with Democratic rival Kamala Harris.

The centrepiece of his address was a push to reduce the corporate tax rate to 15% for companies that make their products in the US. That move would be a large reduction from the current 21% rate — a key policy win from Trump’s own 2017 tax law.

“We want to make our goods in America, and for most of them, we can,” Trump said. “If you outsource, offshore or replace American workers, you are not eligible for any of these benefits.”

Trump spoke to about 650 people at the Economic Club of New York event. The group counts major corporate executives, business leaders and economists among its members. Hedge fund billionaire John Paulson, Cantor Fitzgerald LP chief executive officer Howard Lutnick and Key Square Group LP’s Scott Bessent — all Trump supporters — were among those in attendance.

A 15% corporate rate would represent a major win for large US corporations, but would also contribute to rising deficits. It would mean big companies end up paying far lower rates than smaller, privately-held businesses, where rates can be as high as 37%.

Trump’s proposal is also in direct opposition to Harris’ vision for corporate taxes. She has called to increase the corporate rate to 28%.

A push to lower the corporate rate also threatens to spark a major fight in Washington, as Congress negotiates over whether to extend portions of Trump’s tax law set to expire in 2025.

Trump also vowed to establish a task force to review federal expenditures, an idea recommended by Musk, the Tesla Inc and SpaceX CEO. He said the commission would be “tasked with conducting a complete financial and performance audit of the entire federal government and making recommendations for drastic reforms”.

“Elon, because he’s not very busy, has agreed to head that task force,” Trump said about tapping Musk, the world’s richest person.

Musk has called for a task force to ensure taxpayer money is spent effectively and pitched himself for a role. The former president has praised Musk as “the greatest cutter”.

On Thursday, Trump also pledged to eliminate 10 regulations for every new regulation if elected, increasing a promise from his first term to eliminate two regulations for every new rule.

Both Trump and Harris are ramping up their economic messaging to court swing-state voters as well as business executives in an election where the economy is a commanding issue.

Polls showed voters think the US economy under President Joe Biden and Harris is improving but still headed in the wrong direction, perceptions fuelled by worries over high prices that have burdened American households.

A Bloomberg News/Morning Consult poll conducted on Aug 23 to 27 in seven swing states showed likely voters trusted Trump on the economy by 50% to 44% over Harris, and more than half think they were better off financially under Trump than Biden and Harris.

While Trump pledged to usher in lower interest rates, the president doesn’t have any direct control over the setting of rates. That job is assigned by Congress to the US Federal Reserve, which lowers or raises its benchmark federal funds rate to influence borrowing costs across the economy on instruments from mortgages to government bonds to car loans.

The US central bank has kept rates at a more than two-decade high since July 2023, in a bid to tame the highest inflation since the early 1980s. Officials are expected to begin lowering rates later this month, as price pressures continue to ease and the labour market cools.

Trump also defended his threats to hit other countries with trade levies if he returns to power, casting it as a “pro-American trade policy that uses tariffs to encourage production here”. And he proposed funneling money from tariffs into a sovereign wealth fund, which could invest in manufacturing hubs, defence and medical research.

“We will create America’s own sovereign wealth fund to invest in great national endeavours for the benefit of all the American people,” Trump said. 

He questioned why the US had not already embraced the idea, and suggested it could be rebranded, saying “we can name it something different”.

He said he would discuss the idea with Paulson, and suggested a role for executives attending his speech, saying many in the room would be “helping to advise and recommend investments”.

Sovereign wealth funds have typically been used by countries with large commodity exports and budget surpluses, such as Saudi Arabia and Norway. The US, by contrast, has been running budget shortfalls for the past two decades, and has financed government spending by issuing debt.

The former president has floated the idea of using tariff hikes to pay for some income tax cuts. He has promised to enact a 10% across-the-board tariff on all imports and 60% duties on Chinese goods if he wins. Many economists say Trump’s proposed tariffs would reignite inflation.

Trump also said he would declare a national emergency on energy to spur domestic production, and quickly approve more development of oil and gas extraction — measures he said would ease high prices. Trump cast the policy as necessary for emerging industries such as artificial intelligence, and to keep the US competitive with China.

Uploaded by Tham Yek Lee