Donald Trump, who likes superlatives, has weighed in with his version of a standard cut-the-rates, broaden-the-base tax reform. And like many other GOP tax rewrite proposals, this one appears to be an enormous tax cut skewed largely in favor of high-income households. While Trump claims the plan would pay for itself after three years, he provides few details about what taxes he’d raise to offset his tax reductions.
In a press conference today, Trump claimed his plan would generate economic growth of up to 6 percent annually. Unless it did (and maybe even if it did), Trump’s plan would add trillions of dollars to the federal debt over the next decade. However, the proposal is so vague that it is not possible to know just how much revenue it would lose.
Many elements of Trump’s plan are similar to Jeb Bush’s recently-released proposal, though they differ in some key details. For instance, Trump proposes much deeper rate cuts for both individuals and businesses. But, at heart, both retain the basic framework of the individual income tax, in contrast to presidential hopefuls such as Rand Paul, who backs a consumption-type tax.
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The Urban Institute podcast, Evidence in Action, inspires changemakers to lead with evidence and act with equity. Cohosted by Urban President Sarah Rosen Wartell and Executive Vice President Kimberlyn Leary, every episode features in-depth discussions with experts and leaders on topics ranging from how to advance equity, to designing innovative solutions that achieve community impact, to what it means to practice evidence-based leadership.