Johnson ‘Not a Big Fan’ of Raising Taxes for Wealthy, Supports Tax Cuts for Everyone

The speaker answered a question about whether taxes could be raised to 40 percent for some wealthier Americans.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) speaks during a news conference after the House Republican Conference meeting at the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington on April 1, 2025. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said that he likely will not support a measure to hike taxes on wealthy Americans, saying he and his party prefer tax reduction across the board.

Johnson was asked Sunday by Fox News host Maria Bartiromo about reports that Republicans may increase taxes on the wealthiest 40 percent to pay for certain initiatives backed by President Donald Trump, including his promise not to tax tips or Social Security payments.

“I’m not a big fan of doing that,” Johnson responded in the interview. “We’re the Republican Party and we’re for tax reduction for everyone. So, I mean, that’s a general principle that we always try to abide by. There’s lots of discussion. There’s lots of ideas on the Hill.”

He added in the Sunday morning interview that “I would say just stay tuned.”

“The next five to six weeks are going to be critical as all these negotiations happen in the committees of jurisdiction. You‘ll hear lots of rumors and lots of talk, but we’ll see where it all lands.”

Johnson added that he wanted to pass the measure by Memorial Day, which is May 26, because of the U.S. government’s debt obligations.

Meanwhile, several top Republicans in Congress appeared to pour cold water on raising taxes for the wealthy.

“That has been proposed by some ... I don’t know how that’s going to land,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) told the National Review.

During the 2024 campaign trail, Trump proposed no taxes on tips or on Social Security payments, while pledging to make permanent and expand his 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

During his joint address to Congress in March, the president said he is still planning to lower taxes for all Americans.

“We’re seeking permanent income tax cuts all across the board,” he said at one point, adding that he wants to cut taxes for the “middle-class, upper-class, lower-class, [and] business-class.”

The remarks come days after House Republicans on April 10 approved a Senate-amended budget framework, 216–214, setting up tax reform via the reconciliation process.

Just two House Republicans voted against the budget resolution—Reps. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Victoria Spartz (R-Ind.). Two additional Republicans, Reps. Bob Onder (R-Mo.) and David Valadao (R-Calif.), did not vote.

“If you were trying to hasten financial collapse of our country and bribe voters to go along with it, the strategy wouldn’t look much different than what Congress is doing today,” Massie said ahead of the vote. “The big beautiful bill cuts taxes while keeping spending on an increasingly unsustainable trajectory.”

The House passed its tax reform blueprint back in February, providing the House Ways and Means Committee with up to $4.5 trillion for tax cuts in exchange for a minimum of $1.5 trillion in spending cuts. For Ways and Means to make use of the full $4.5 trillion, however, committees would collectively need to come up with another $500 billion in deficit reductions.

The Senate, meanwhile, passed an amended version of the House budget resolution earlier this month, mandating just $4 billion in spending cuts. The Senate version also provides only $1.5 trillion to the chamber’s tax-writing committee, but assumes the use of a scoring tactic that would treat extending the expiring Tax Cuts and Jobs Act provisions as a continuation of existing spending, rather than new expenditure.

The movement in Congress comes as Americans are due to file their taxes by April 15.

The Epoch Times has contacted the White House for comment.

Reuters contributed to this report.