Trump’s Treasury Pick: There Will Be ‘No Absolute Tax Cut For The Upper Class’

Steven Mnuchin, President-elect Donald Trump's nominee for Treasury Secretary, talks with reporters in the lobby of Trump Tower, Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2016, in New York. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
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Steve Mnuchin, President-elect Donald Trump’s newly-minted pick for treasury secretary, said Wednesday that any upper-income tax cuts enacted by Trump would be offset by eliminating tax deductions.

“Any reductions we have in upper income taxes would be offset by less deductions so there would be no absolute tax cut for the upper class,” Mnuchin said in an interview on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.”

Mnuchin argued it was “not the case at all” that most of Trump’s proposed tax cuts would benefit the upper class.

“There will be a big tax cut for the middle class, but any tax cuts we have for the upper class would be offset by less deductions that pay for it,” he said.

Asked about tax-deductible mortgage interest and charitable donations, Mnuchin said charity would still be deductible, and “we’ll cap mortgage interest, but we’ll allow some deductibility.”

“There will be other deductions that are absolutely limited,” he said.

Though a tax plan posted on Trump’s campaign website does mention reducing deductions and simplifying the tax code, it doesn’t appear to support Mnuchin’s claim that eliminating deductions would completely offset Trump’s tax cut for the rich.

An December 2015 analysis of Trump’s proposals by the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center noted of Trump’s plan, “documentation states that the proposal would reduce or eliminate ‘other loopholes for the very rich and special interests’ but does not specify which loopholes or how they would be reduced or eliminated.”

Earlier in the interview, Mnuchin said that the Trump administration would aim to lower corporate taxes to 15 percent.

Speaking to reporters in the lobby of Trump Tower Wednesday morning, Mnuchin said “we’re going to have the most significant middle income tax cut since Reagan,” according to a transition pool report.

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  1. So they are going to cut taxes, they are just going to claim its made up by some other BS.

  2. bookmarks this article, because I think it will be needed later.

  3. But if you should happen to own a small corporation, you are in hog heaven…“15 % Corporate Tax”

    (According to Financial Times quoting Mnuchin on the front page this very moment)

  4. So, …

    The middle class (however you define that group currently) will get a huge tax cut.

    The upper class will not get a tax cut but will still be able to partake of the deductions that enable them to keep massive amounts of money and pay no taxes.

    The government gets its revenue (that pays for SS, Medicare, the VA) from - where?

    EDIT TO ADD:

    Asked about tax-deductible mortgage interest and charitable donations, Mnuchin said charity would still be deductible, and “we’ll cap mortgage interest, but we’ll allow some deductibility.”

    “There will be other deductions that are absolutely limited,” he said.

    Guys, this should set off a very BIG RED FLAG. Especially for those feral trumpers who weren’t experiencing economic anxiety, making an average of $72K per yr. but stone cold racist.

  5. Even Barron’s says 15% is way too low. BARRON’S. Excerpt:

    On the campaign trail, he proposed slashing the rate that businesses pay on income from 35% to 15%. That might be too much—it could significantly reduce the government’s tax haul and add to the nation’s already unacceptable debt burden. Barron’s recommends a cut to 22%, which would be revenue-neutral, allowing businesses to produce just enough additional taxable income to offset the effect of the lower rate. And getting a 22% cut through Congress would be easier than 15%.

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