President Donald Trump said the richest Americans ‘will not be gaining’ under his new tax plan – and even allowed that their tax rates could go up.
Trump met with a bipartisan group of lawmakers to try to jump start a push for tax reform, on a night where he dines with Senate Democratic leader Charles Schumer and House minority leader Nancy Pelosi tonight.
Asked about the contours of the plan, Trump immediately countered Democratic claims that he was planning a massive tax cut for the wealthy.
‘The rich will not be gaining at all with this plan. We’re looking at the middle class and we’re looking for jobs,’ Trump said.
President Donald Trump said the wealthy ‘will not be gaining at all’ from his tax plan
‘I think the wealthy will be pretty much where they are,’ Trump said. Then he added: ‘If they have to go higher they’ll go higher, frankly.’
‘We should be able to come together to make government work for the people,’ Trump said in a prepared statement at the gathering with lawmakers.
‘That’s why I was elected, that’s why I ran. And to provide jobs and opportunities to millions of struggling families. This includes tax reform that is pro jobs, pro growth, pro family, and pro-America. It’s very simple. It’s all pro-America.’
Trump said the plan would cut taxes ‘substantially.’
‘It’ll be the largest decrease in the history of our country for the middle class,’ he said.
‘The rich will not be gaining at all with this plan. We are looking for the middle class and we are looking for jobs – jobs being the economy. So we´re looking at middle class and we´re looking at jobs,’ the president said.
U.S. President Donald Trump meets with a bipartisan group of members of Congress, including U.S. Representative Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) (L) and Representative Tom Reed (R-NY) (R), at the White House in Washington, U.S. September 13, 2017. Trump kicked off the bipartisan meeting by noting that Reed was an early supporter of his
Rep. Josh Gottheimer (Democrat from New Jersey -L), Rep. Tom Reed (Republican from New York-2nd R) and White House Chief of Staff John Kelly (R) listen on while US President Donald Trump addresses a meeting with lawmakers in the Cabinet Room of the White House on September 13, 2017 in Washington, DC
Trump repeated his desire to slash corporate tax rates to 15 per cent.
‘Right now we’re at 35 per cent … and China is at 15 per cent,’ Trump said. ‘They’re at 15 percent and we’re at 35 plus, and that doesn’t work.’
Trump also mentioned repatriating income that companies keep off shore. We have trillions of dollars overseas that we’ll bring back and we’ll bring em back quickly.
Then he made a pitch for infrastructure reform, something he campaigned on that has gone nowhere since. ‘Another bipartisan project that is urgently needed is infrastructure and infrastructure investment,’ Trump said.
It’s time now to build new roads, new bridges, airports, tunnels, highways and railways … all ax our great land
Trump oddly began his remarks by praising an early endorser, New York Republican Rep. Tom Reed. ‘He was there right at the beginning when it wasn’t very fashionable,’ Trump said.
Trump said the plan would ‘make the tax code simple and fair’ as well as ‘encourage companies to hire and grow in America.’