4:08
- ABC News
- Donald Trump
- April 26, 2017
What's in Trump's tax plan that promises 'massive' cuts
Officials say the plan will pay for itself, but tax experts aren't so sure.
Critics of the plan say it would cause a problematic loss in revenue for the federal government. One independent analysis by the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center found that the plan could result in a $6 trillion shortfall over the next decade, which experts say would add to the deficit and national debt.
And the plan faces an uphill climb in Congress, where Republicans must win some Democratic cooperation to bring the plan to a vote in the Senate. A statement from Republican leaders in Congress said Trump's plan will \"serve as critical guideposts from Congress and the administration as we work together\" on a tax reform package.
Still, the White House maintains that economic growth resulting from the tax cuts will make up for the lost dollars. \"This will pay for itself with growth and with reduction of different deductions and closing loopholes,\" said Mnuchin.
Marc Short, the White House director of legislative affairs, said the the Trump administration was \"not looking to propose a tax system that ends up adding to deficit.\"
\"Our expectation is that with the growth we create and the elimination of many deductions, that we will make it revenue neutral,\" he told ABC News' political director Rick Klein and chief White House correspondent Jonathan Karl on \"Powerhouse Politics.\"
The plan calls for repealing the alternative minimum tax, which affects high-income Americans who take lots of deductions. Returns from 2005 showed that most of Trump's tax liability that year was due to the AMT.
The blueprint would eliminate all personal tax deductions other than for mortgage interest and charitable giving. It would also eliminate the estate tax, which critics call the death tax.
The largest deduction that could be eliminated is for state and local income taxes, which allows people to deduct those taxes from their federal income tax bill. Ending that deduction would especially affect blue states — like New York, California and Massachusetts — which tend to have high local and state income taxes. Other smaller itemized deductions people often take that could be eliminated under the Trump plan include those for medical expenses, casualty losses, college loan interest and unreimbursed job expenses.
Administration officials are calling this a first draft — an outline of priorities and principles. In the final hours before its release, some key parts were still a work in progress.
ABC News' Lauren Pearle and Zunaira Zaki contributed to this report.
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