Oren Cass, Founder and “Chief Economist” of American Compass, called for a laundry list of tax increases during an appearance on the “Conservative Crossroads” podcast released on Tuesday.

While debating ATR President Grover Norquist, the progressive Cass called for the reversal of key provisions of the Trump Tax Cuts.

Cass wants to impose personal income tax rate hikes, a corporate income tax rate hike, a payroll tax hike on American workers and even Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s $800 billion financial transaction tax.

Below are the direct quotations from Cass laying out the tax increases he supports along with the relevant audio clip from the podcast:

Raising Taxes on Individuals and Small Businesses

“I would take the top couple of rates back up to where they were before TCJA.”

Raising the top marginal income tax rate to pre-TCJA levels, let alone the “top couple of rates” as Cass proposes, would be a $400 billion tax increase, according to the Penn Wharton Budget Model.

Who pays the top two rates? People who make things. Small and mid-sized businesses that file their taxes on the owner’s 1040. Manufacturers, welders, builders, metalworkers, contractors. Employers that are the backbone of every town in America. In 2025 they wrote a letter to lawmakers urging no tax rate hike, and the lawmakers listened. These are the very workers Cass claims to care about. Why does he want to raise their taxes?

You can find a detailed list of conservative opposition to raising the top tax rate here.

Corporate Rate Hike to 25 Percent

“I would take the corporate rate back up to 25 percent.”

Even American Compass’ own prior estimates show this is a tax increase to the tune of $500 billion.

The corporate income tax is a tax on American workers. Studies show that higher corporate taxes disproportionately reduce wages for young workers, the low-skilled, and women due to significant barriers to working, like limited transportation and childcare costs. According to the Tax Foundation, workers bear an estimated 70 percent of the corporate income tax in the form of lower wages.

With state corporate tax rates averaging about four percent, the Cass plan would impose a combined federal-state tax rate of 29%, higher than China’s conventional 25% rate and its preferred 15% corporate tax rate on companies deemed “high and new technology enterprises.”

Hiking the federal corporate tax rate would also increase the cost of household utility bills as the tax burden on electric, gas, and water companies is passed through directly to consumers.

Elizabeth Warren’s $800B Financial Transaction Tax

“We support a financial transaction tax, which I think would be very helpful in the functioning of our financial markets. There’d be a small tax in the value of each stock trade or bond sale or so forth.”

In its policy handbook, “Rebuilding American Capitalism,” American Compass further explains:

“Congress should establish a financial transaction tax (FTT) of 10 basis points on secondary-market sales of stocks, bonds, and derivatives. Most of the world’s largest financial centers, including London, Hong Kong, and Shanghai have this kind of tax, which targets unproductive and speculative transactions and can lower costs for long-term investors by reducing excessive churn and encouraging a return to low-turnover, lower-cost strategies. According to the Congressional Budget Office, such a tax would raise more than $750 billion over ten years.”

The Congressional Budget Office’s most recent score showed this plan as raising $797 billion in tax revenue over ten years. A financial transaction tax of 10 basis points was a key pillar of Elizabeth Warren’s tax plan during her failed presidential campaign.

Payroll Tax Hike on American Workers

“But I do think it makes sense to raise the cap somewhat on payroll taxes.”

While Cass did not offer any further details on his payroll tax increase, Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio) recently called for fully eliminating the payroll tax cap, currently at $184,500, in a joint New York Times op-ed with Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.).

Cass praised the Moreno-Warren plan, writing in June that Sen. Moreno “deserves credit for grabbing the third rail of entitlement reform and pushing conservatives past the Paul Ryan era, when “entitlement reform” was a euphemism for benefit cuts, toward an approach that puts revenue on the table.”

The Moreno-Warren plan praised by Cass would raise taxes by $3.2 trillion, reduce long-run GDP by 1.5 percent and cost 1.8 million jobs, according to an analysis from the Tax Foundation.

You can find the long list of conservative opposition to Sen. Moreno’s payroll tax hike here.