Trump unveils tax plan with cuts for businesses and families


President Trump unveiled a broad tax proposal Wednesday, including a sharp cut in the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 15 percent. For individuals, the administration proposed reducing the seven tax brackets to three, at 10, 25, and 35 percent. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the proposal is the "biggest tax cut and the largest tax reform in the history of our country."
"We are going to double the standard deduction, so a married couple will not pay any taxes on the first $24,000 they earn," chief economic advisor Gary Cohn added. The proposal would additionally repeal the estate tax, or so-called "death tax," as well as "the catch-all alternative minimum tax, and the 3.8 percent tax on investment income from President Barack Obama's health-care law," The Associated Press reports. While Republicans had wanted a border adjustment tax on imports, it was not included in the White House's plan.
The White House reportedly hopes some of its family-friendly provisions, such as adjustments that help with child-care costs, will give Democrats a strong incentive to negotiate a deal, but Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez has argued that "Trump's latest proposal is another gift to corporations and billionaires like himself."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
-
Quiz of The Week: 9 – 15 August
Quiz Have you been paying attention to The Week's news?
-
Britain's giant rat problem
Rising infestation reports and increased sightings of oversized rats have caused concerns about waste management in some areas
-
The Week Unwrapped: Has Donald Trump secured his Nobel Peace Prize?
Podcast Plus, what does the use of North Korean and Indian labour tell us about the Russian war economy? And why have we all gone crazy for pickles?
-
US to take 15% cut of AI chip sales to China
Speed Read Nvidia and AMD will pay the Trump administration 15% of their revenue from selling artificial intelligence chips to China
-
NFL gets ESPN stake in deal with Disney
Speed Read The deal gives the NFL a 10% stake in Disney's ESPN sports empire and gives ESPN ownership of NFL Network
-
Samsung to make Tesla chips in $16.5B deal
Speed Read Tesla has signed a deal to get its next-generation chips from Samsung
-
FCC greenlights $8B Paramount-Skydance merger
Speed Read The Federal Communications Commission will allow Paramount to merge with the Hollywood studio Skydance
-
Tesla reports plummeting profits
Speed Read The company may soon face more problems with the expiration of federal electric vehicle tax credits
-
Dollar faces historic slump as stocks hit new high
Speed Read While stocks have recovered post-Trump tariffs, the dollar has weakened more than 10% this year
-
Economists fear US inflation data less reliable
speed read The Labor Department is collecting less data for its consumer price index due to staffing shortages
-
Crypto firm Coinbase hacked, faces SEC scrutiny
Speed Read The Securities and Exchange Commission has also been investigating whether Coinbase misstated its user numbers in past disclosures