(The Center Square) – President Donald Trump's plan to send some Americans $2,000 checks from the federal government's tariff collections is expected to cost more than the import duties will generate.

Trump has said he wants to issue the rebate checks and use the rest of the money to pay down the nation's $38 trillion debt, even as the Supreme Court has not yet determined whether he has the authority to impose tariffs.

Trump has provided few details about the proposed rebates. He said they would be for low and middle-income Americans, not the wealthy, but has not specified any income limits.

Three different scenarios analyzed by the Tax Foundation estimate that costs of distributing the checks would range from $279.8 billion to $606.8 billion. The scenarios varied according to income l

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