When meeting with the leadership of both parties in Congress regarding tax reform yesterday, Donald Trump assured the American people that his tax reform legislation would not cut taxes for the wealthy, and would instead prioritize the American middle class.

Donald Trump, 9/13/2017: “And, by the way, lower for individuals — much lower than that for individuals.  And the rich will not be gaining at all with this plan.  We’re looking for the middle class, and we’re looking for jobs.”

Fast forward 24 hours though and Trump’s Treasury Secretary is singing a different tune. Just now, when asked about Trump’s claim that tax reform would not benefit the rich, Secretary  Mnuchin flatly contradicted it by revealing that the legislation would still repeal the estate tax – which is only paid by the wealthiest 0.2 percent of all estates.

Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, 9/14/2017: “And even if we do end up with a slight reduction on the high end, that will be offset by a reduction of deductions so that they’re taxes won’t go down.  Now, I will just comment on the estate tax, which we sometimes refer to as the ‘death tax.’ And we believe Americans pay tax once; they shouldn’t have to pay it when they die again.  So, you know, the estate tax is not in our distribution tables.”

“Donald Trump is lying about taxes and it’s his Treasury Secretary who is actually telling the truth,” said American Bridge spokesperson Andrew Bates. “In reality, his plan promises a windfall for those with over $5.49 million – that’s not the middle class.  Donald Trump is only interested in further rigging the tax code in favor of the wealthiest Americans, which the American people have made clear is the opposite of the direction we need to go in.”