By Ovunc Kutlu
NEW YORK (AA) – President Donald Trump’s team on Wednesday unveiled the highly-anticipated tax reform proposal that lowers corporate tax in order to boost economic growth and create jobs.
Trump’s tax proposal plans to cut corporate tax rate to 15 percent from 35 percent “to make U.S. businesses the most competitive in the world”, Secretary of Treasury Steven Mnuchin told reporters at the White House.
The proposal will impose a one-time tax on profits that the U.S. companies have overseas, which “will bring back trillions of dollars that are offshore to be invested here in the U.S. to purchase capital and to create jobs”, Mnuchin said.
Gary Cohn, Trump’s chief economic advisor, said the plan includes a top tax rate of 35 percent for individuals — down from the existing 39.6 percent — as well as a zero percent tax rate for the first $24,000 that a couple earns.
He said the number of total tax brackets will be lowered from seven to three — 10, 25, and 35 percent brackets.
Critics believe the proposed tax breaks risk widening the budget deficit, while the administration hopes that the resulting decline in tax revenue will be compensated by faster growth.
Cohn stressed that President Trump is focused on job creation, economic growth, and helping the lower- and middle-income families.
“We have once in a generation opportunity to do something really big,” Cohn said, describing Trump’s proposal as “the biggest tax reform legislation since 1986, and one of the biggest tax cuts in American history”.
He noted that the administration is working with both houses of Congress on the details.
During an executive order signing in the Roosevelt Room, a reporter asked President Trump for his view on the outlined tax reform plan, to which he responded: “It’s a great plan. It’s going to put people back to work.”
Mnuchin said the government is “determined to move this [tax plan] as fast as we can, and get this done this year”.
