Donald Trump, The Today Show, April 21, 2016:
Q: Do you believe in raising taxes on the wealthy?
A: I do, I do, including myself. I do.
Donald Trump, November 7, 2016, Scranton, PA:
[I will] massively cut taxes for the middle class, the forgotten people, the forgotten men and women of this country, who built our country.
Donald Trump’s Secretary of the Treasury, Steven Mnuchin, “Squawk Box,” CNBC, November 30, 2016:
Any reductions we have in upper-income taxes will be offset by less deductions so that there will be no absolute tax cut for the upper class.
Donald Trump Tax Plan for individuals, released April 26, 2017. Whom does it benefit?:
■ High-income earners. The plan would reduce the top rate on individual income tax — now 39.6 percent for income over around $470,000 for a married couple — to 35 percent. But that’s only part of the gain for high-income earners. It also would eliminate a 3.8 percent tax, used to help fund Obamacare, that applies to investment income over $250,000 for a couple.
■ Multimillionaires who want to pass money to their heirs tax-free. The plan would eliminate the estate tax, which currently applies to individuals with estates of $5.5 million or couples with estates worth $11 million.
■ Donald J. Trump. It is striking how many of the categories listed above affect the president and his family. He is a high-income earner. He receives income from 564 business entities, according to his financial disclosure form, and could take advantage of the low rate on “pass-through” companies. According to his leaked 2005 tax return, he paid an extra $31 million because of the alternative minimum tax that he seeks to eliminate. And his heirs could eventually enjoy his enormous assets tax-free.
Was there ever really any doubt?
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