U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick made waves on Jesse Watters Primetime Wednesday night, laying out President Donald Trump’s bold plan to dismantle the IRS and overhaul America’s tax system. For decades, Americans have been suffocating under an overgrown, unaccountable tax collection agency, while foreign businesses skated by tax-free. But Trump, as usual, isn’t interested in playing by Washington’s rules—his plan? Abolish the IRS and make the freeloaders pay.
Lutnick explained that under Trump’s vision, foreign corporations that operate in the U.S. while paying zero taxes—like cruise lines and supertankers conveniently registered in tax havens like Panama and Liberia—will finally be forced to contribute their fair share. For years, these industries have dodged American taxes while raking in massive profits, all while hardworking U.S. citizens get squeezed by an IRS that never seems to misplace their audit notice. That’s about to change.
During his Fox News appearance, Lutnick didn’t mince words, pointing out the absurdity of these tax loopholes. “You ever see a cruise ship with an American flag on the back?” he asked. “No, they’ve got flags of Liberia or Panama. None of them pay taxes. Every supertanker? No taxes. Foreign alcohol? No taxes.” In other words, while Americans are expected to fork over their hard-earned money, multinational corporations are enjoying tax-free status, courtesy of a system rigged against the average taxpayer. Trump’s plan flips that equation, ensuring that these global players start paying up while Americans see lower tax rates and a balanced budget.
Naturally, the left is already in meltdown mode over the idea of dismantling their beloved IRS. The agency has been a favorite tool for targeting conservative organizations and expanding government overreach, and now, it finds itself directly in the crosshairs of the Trump administration. Reports indicate that Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has already sent staffers to IRS headquarters to begin evaluating its bloated bureaucracy and preparing for a full-scale restructuring. The writing is on the wall, and deep-state bureaucrats know their days of unchecked power may be numbered.
The reality is that public sentiment toward the IRS has never been lower. A Pew Research poll from last July found that the IRS is the most disliked federal agency, with 50% of Americans viewing it unfavorably. That’s no surprise given its history of political bias, particularly its targeting of conservative groups under the Obama administration—a controversy so blatant that the IRS was forced to issue a formal apology in 2017. Meanwhile, Democrats’ grand plan under Biden was to hire 87,000 new IRS agents—because what Americans really needed during record inflation was more tax enforcement. Thankfully, with Trump back in charge, that expansion effort has been dead on arrival.
Trump’s strategy to eliminate the IRS is shaping up to be one of the most ambitious tax reforms in American history, and it has the establishment in a full-blown panic. The old Washington playbook—where Americans foot the bill while foreign corporations laugh all the way to the bank—is on borrowed time. As Trump moves forward with his plan, one thing is certain: the days of an unchecked IRS breathing down Americans’ necks while letting global elites slide are about to come to an end.
