Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin on Thursday evaded the question of whether President Trump’s tax plan gives a massive tax cut to the wealthy.
“This isn’t about a dramatic cut in taxes for the wealthy,” Mr. Mnuchin said on NBC News. “When we lay out the exact details of the plan, you’ll see this is about reducing taxes and tax simplification.”
The Treasury secretary also added, “This is now about taking the president’s principles and turning them into a bill that we can get passed and the president can sign this year so we can create economic growth.”
Mr. Mnuchin also said that he couldn’t guarantee tax cuts for the middle class until the legislation reaches Mr. Trump.
“I can’t make any guarantees until this thing is done and on the president’s desk, but I can tell you that’s our number one objective in this,” Mr. Mnuchin said on ABC News.
He also deferred to Mr. Trump when asked about the president’s reluctance to release his tax returns.
“I’m going to let the president decide what he’s going to do in the future,” Mr. Mnuchin said. “That’s obviously up to him. What the president is focused on, and what I’m focused on, is creating opportunities for the public.”
But Mr. Mnuchin said the American public already has a lot of information on the president’s financials.
“He’s released more information, and people have lots of information,” he said on ABC News. “The principle of this is getting rid of deductions and having fair taxes and simplifying taxes. That’s what this is about. This is not about the president’s taxes. This is about what’s good for the American public.”
The president released his tax plan Wednesday, which includes repealing the Obamacare tax, lowering the corporate tax rate to 15 percent and reducing the seven current tax brackets to three.
• Sally Persons can be reached at spersons@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.