White House finally unveils Trump's grand tax "plan" in a scant one-page memo: "Not even close to reform"

Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said that over 100 people had worked on the tax plan rollout

Published April 26, 2017 7:53PM (EDT)

 (AP/Susan Walsh)
(AP/Susan Walsh)

The White House shared its long-awaited tax plan on Wednesday in an unimpressive one-page rollout that offered few details as to how the administration intends to overhaul the federal tax code.

Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin only provided the press a one-page proposal of the Trump administration's plan. In the 227-word memo, the White House said that one of President Donald Trump's goals for tax reform is to "simplify our burdensome tax code."

For individual tax reform, the Trump administration offered three bullet points that it claims will help accomplish the biggest individual tax cut in "American history."

  1. Reducing the 7 tax brackets to 3 tax brackets for 10%, 25% and 35%
  2. Doubling the standard deduction
  3. Providing tax relief for families with child and dependent care expenses

Other notables in the Trump tax plan include the elimination of medical deductions and the repeal of the estate tax. Trump also proposes cutting the corporate tax rate to 15 percent.

After reviewing the White House's memo, Lily Batchelder, former chief tax counsel of the Senate Finance committee, tweeted that the plan was "immensely costly and regressive."

Most people could not help but marvel at the "skimpy" press release the administration tried to pass as an actual tax plan.

Binyamin Appelbaum, a Washington correspondent for The New York Times, noted that Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said that 100 people in his department helped prepare the tax plan rollout.

But even Republicans on Capitol Hill remained unimpressed.

"It's not tax reform," one senior GOP aide told CNN. "Not even close to reform"

As far as the tax plan's real-world implications, critics are concerned that it will only benefit the upper class. Working Families Party national director Dan Cantor promptly released a statement Wednesday condemning Trump's plan.

“ Donald Trump may call it tax reform, but in reality his proposal is a radical redistribution of wealth upwards, where the rich get richer and working Americans get left behind. It is theft in the name of governance," the statement said. “The plan is meant to starve the society of our most basic collective needs, so that later, they can denounce the government for failing.”


By Taylor Link

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Donald Trump Steve Mnuchin Tax Plan Tax Reform Taxes Treasury Treasury Department Trump Administration