On Wednesday March 31, President Donald Trump signed an executive order declaring that the income of a person will be capped at $1 billion, and that all income over that amount would be 100 percent federally taxed. This executive order went against many of Trump’s previous handling of the taxation of billionaires, for example, his 2025 “Big Beautiful Bill” which offered many benefits to the wealthy, and very little to the working class.
President Trump claimed that the increased federal income from the new taxes would be used to fund programs like Social Security, the Affordable Care Act, SNAP, and housing assistance programs with billions of dollars. Trump also stated that any funds left over would be used for stimulus checks to those not receiving federal aid.
Many Trump supporters were outraged, including “Billionaires United,” an organization made up of many former Trump supporters.
“This tax is completely unfair to everyone involved. We billionaires work extremely hard to make our money, and this tax will negatively affect our lifestyles and well-being,” the group said in a press release.
Additionally, local opponents to the executive order spoke out against these new taxes.
“The way these extra funds are going to be spent will just destroy our economy,” an anonymous source said. “Giving people free food, housing, healthcare, and even free money is just going to destroy people’s will to work, slowing our production, stopping our exporting, and losing us exporting and tariff money.”
In fact, opponents were so upset by the executive order, they decided to spend the afternoon at the Eugene Federal building protesting
“We’re down here fighting for our country’s economy, and our future. Giving everyone everything for free creates a lazy and communist society,” an anonymous pro-billionaire source said.
The protests were mostly peaceful, except for a few members who threw rocks and other debris at the building. This led to them being restrained and arrested by EPD. The damage to the building was minimal, and protestors were released from custody later that night.
At the national level, support for the executive order remained strong. President Trump said that the positive effects of these new taxes should be evident by the beginning of May, as the laws would be enacted for this year’s tax season. Trump exclaimed that Americans should see less hunger, less homelessness, less poverty, and a better overall country.
Article by Luke Zamberlan