Whose Idea Is Trump’s Big, Absurd ‘Revenge’ Tax?: Shuli Ren

An obscure item tucked deep inside President Donald Trump’s big, beautiful tax and spending bill is spooking Wall Street. The question is how and why this idea came up in the first place.

Section 899, titled “Enforcement of Remedies Against Unfair Foreign Taxes,” gives the White House the power to levy a new tax of up to 20% on foreigners with US investments. It’s nicknamed the “revenge” tax, in that the administration would be able to to charge investors from countries that it believes unfairly tax American businesses.

Analysts have called this provision troubling and noted its poor timing. Even before Trump’s ...