Trump launches tax plan rewrite

Politico ^ | 05/11/2016 | Shane Goldmacher

[GIdget2004]

Donald Trump's campaign has enlisted influential conservative economists to revise his tax package and make it more politically palatable by slashing the $10 trillion sticker price. Their main targets: Lifting the top tax rate from Trump's original plan and expanding the number of people who would have to pay taxes under it.

Trump's initial proposal, rolled out with fanfare at Trump Tower in Manhattan last September, has been in the spotlight since he became the presumptive Republican nominee last week and promptly declared that it was only a starting point for any negotiations with congressional Democrats, should he become president. Story Continued Below

But it turns out Trump's team is open to revamping it far sooner than that; the campaign last month contacted at least two prominent conservative economists -- Larry Kudlow, the CNBC television host, and Stephen Moore of the Heritage Foundation and a longtime Wall Street Journal writer -- to spearhead an effort to update the package.

"What we've been trying to do is help advise him a little bit to try to reduce the cost of the plan" and still encourage economic growth, Moore said in an interview.

Trump's initial plan has come under criticism from both the right and left for vastly expanding the deficit, with the nonpartisan Tax Foundation estimating it would add $10 trillion to the federal deficit in the next decade. Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton has moved quickly to tattoo the plan's steep price tag onto Trump, with her team holding a call on Monday calling it a reckless expansion of debt.

"This is the most risky, restless and regressive tax proposal ever put forward by a major presidential candidate," one of President Obama's former top economic advisers, Gene Sperling, said on the Clinton campaign call.

[Syncopated]

Thank you for your reply. I agree with everything you said, but we have an issue in this country with a lack of political capital regarding the powers of the federal government. A large group of our population, wrong in principle they might be, feel that there ought to be oversight in local governance. They will point to a few exceptional cases of local abuses to make their case, and they will also fund massive legal fights over any attempt to abolish a cabinet level agency. It is our responsibility to make conclusive, clear arguments in favor of limited government. It is their responsibility to respond in good faith with their own arguments for an expanded role in government. We are right, they are wrong, but it's a democratic process that has unfortunately been inundated with sound bites and emotions. I'd love to see a bipartisan congress working to limit the role of Big Gov in our lives, but we're only now emerging from 8 years of darkness and I don't know when we'll get to that point.

[PrairieLady2]

Besides, taxes was not the basis of the primary campaign. The major issue there was national security, immigration, jobs, and trade.<<<<

Actually, you are partially correct. Taxes weren’t specifically emphasised during the rallys, but they WERE (are) listed, along with a rough-draft plan, on Trump’s web page. The taxes go hand in hand with jobs and trade as in bringing back the manufacturing base in addition to off shore funds. Tax adjustments need to happen to stimulate investment among other things.

Additionally, spending power has been touched upon as in increasing wealth along with a reduction in obamacare costs.

It takes listening to a LOT of rallys to gather up the information and piece it together, and of course listening to the press blurbs he’s put out helps too.

[Luigi Vasellini]

Excellent reply to libs about reagans tax cuts and dems malfeasance

[magellan]

"Spearheaded by Larry Kudlow and Stephen Moore."

"Excellent."

Certainly an improvement. Stephen Moore was the primary author both Rand Paul's tax plan and coauthor of Ted Cruz's tax plan, both of which were very good plans.

[magellan]

"Besides, taxes was not the basis of the primary campaign. The major issue there was national security, immigration, jobs, and trade."

The single best ways to deal with jobs and trade are via taxes and regulations.