Trump's tax plan would probably save him more than $1 billion

(Image credit: Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images))

last updated 29 September 2017

When President Trump rolled out the new Republican tax plan on Wednesday, he told the crowd in Indianapolis that "it's not good for me, believe me," and he later told reporters: "I don't benefit. In fact, very very strongly, as you see, I think there's very little benefit for people of wealth." PolitiFact rated those claims "false," with the caveat that since Trump has not released his tax returns, as promised, it is hard to know just how much he would save on his tax bill.

In fact, Trump would benefit from several of the plan's provisions, primarily the excision of the alternative minimum tax (AMT) and estate tax. The biggest savings would be from repealing the estate tax, which applies to estates worth more than $5.49 million; The New York Times estimates that Trump (or his heirs) would gain $1.1 billion, based on Bloomberg's assessment of Trump's wealth at $2.86 billion.

The Times consulted an accountant and tax lawyer, and based on the snippets of Trump's 1995 and 2005 tax returns obtained by the media, Trump would also gain tens of millions a year, including $31 million from scrapping the AMT, $16 million from lowering the tax rates on certain types of family businesses to 25 percent from 39.6 percent, and about $500,000 a year from cutting the top personal income tax rate to 35 percent; he would also pay $3-5 million more a year due to dropped deductions. You can read more about those numbers at The New York Times.

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.

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