“It’s come to the point that even Donald Trump’s top economic adviser won’t defend his lies about taxes,” said American Bridge spokesperson Andrew Bates. “Donald Trump is trying to exploit his office and cut his own taxes, a move that would further rig the economy for the richest Americans while leaving the American middle class behind. The American people deserve better, starting with a tax plan that is focused on investing in good-paying jobs and delivering economic relief to hard-working people who need it most by letting them keep more of their hard-earned money.”
Yesterday, Donald Trump promised the American people multiple times that his tax plan put the middle class and working Americans first, as well as that it did not benefit the rich – himself included.
Donald Trump, 9/27/2017: “Our framework includes our explicit commitment that tax reform will protect low-income and middle-income households, not the wealthy and well-connected. They can call me all they want. It’s not going to help. I’m doing the right thing, and it’s not good for me. Believe me.”
Donald Trump, 9/27/2017: “I don’t benefit, no…My plan is for the working people, and I think very, very strongly, there’s very little benefit [in it] for people of wealth.”
However, this morning, when National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn was sent out by the White House to promote Trump’s tax plan, he said he “could not guarantee” that it would not cause a tax increase for the American middle class, and could not substantiate Trump’s claim that the wealthy and Trump himself would not receive new tax benefits.
ABC News, 9/28/2017: George Stephanopoulos: Right, but you’re not saying how much you’re going to increase it by. And, if I’m hearing you correctly, you can’t guarantee that no middle class family will get a tax increase. There will be middle class families who get a tax increase under your plan, correct?
Gary Cohn: George, there’s an exception to every rule.
George Stephanopoulos: So that’s a yes?
Gary Cohn: Look, I can’t guarantee anything. You could always find a unique family somewhere. What our job here, and what we’ve been working on in the White House, is to create an economic stimulus package by using taxes to drive the economy of the United States. And that’s what the president has ordered us to do, and that’s what we’re doing.
George Stephanopoulos: The president has also said that the wealthy will not get a tax cut under the plan. He says that he himself will not a get a tax under the plan, or his family won’t get one. He said that you won’t get one, as well. But look at the front page of USA Today right now. It says that Trump could reap millions from his own tax plan, if you look at the fact that you’re eliminating the estate tax, eliminating the alternative minimum tax, cutting the top rate, cutting capital gains, cutting the tax on pass-through income, that means millions of dollars for the president of the United States.
Gary Cohn: George, look, you’ve got to look at the plan in it’s entirety.
That’s because Trump is lying:
Tax Policy Center, 9/27/2017: “It may cut taxes modestly for some middle-income households, but it appears to be a far bigger tax cut for high-income households. Individual rate cuts, repeal of the Alternative Minimum Tax and the estate tax, and preservation of tax preferences for charitable giving, mortgage interest, and retirement savings all primarily benefit those with high-incomes. Tax cuts for corporations and, especially, pass-through businesses, would mostly benefit the highest-income households.”
New York Times, 9/27/2017: “The tax plan that the Trump administration outlined on Wednesday is a potentially huge windfall for the wealthiest Americans. It would not directly benefit the bottom third of the population. As for the middle class, the benefits appear to be modest.”
USA Today, 9/27/2017: “Trump’s initial plan – backed by Republican leadership on Capitol Hill – would eliminate the individual Alternative Minimum Tax and estate taxes. It would also tax so-called ‘pass through’ businesses at 25%. Both of these changes could greatly benefit Trump and his family’s business empire. ”
Vox, 9/27/2017: “We can identify at least one taxpayer who will hugely benefit from the proposal: President Donald Trump. We still haven’t seen his tax returns, but thanks to leaked documents we know that at least at some point in the past, the only income tax he paid was the alternative minimum tax (the AMT). We also know that his businesses operate through “pass-through” vehicles (partnerships, LLCs and S corporations).”