How Does Trump’s Tax Plan Help the Middle Class? ‘Honestly, We Don’t Know’
- Ending tax breaks won’t erase wealthy benefits, experts say
- Trump claims he’d actually pay more under his blueprint
Trump Says He's Open to Raising U.S. Gasoline Tax
President Donald Trump’s economic advisers pitched his new tax plan as a cut for the middle class and not the wealthy, but the opposite may be true. Tax policy experts say its current provisions would undoubtedly mean lower taxes for top earners, while the impact on middle incomes is less clear.
Trump’s blueprint -- a list of bullet points released on April 26 -- would directly reduce taxes for upper earners by cutting the top income-tax rate to 35 percent from 39.6 percent; eliminate the Alternative Minimum Tax, which raises the tax bills of certain taxpayers on the higher side of the income scale; and scrap a 3.8 percent investment income tax under Obamacare that applies to individuals with incomes of more than $200,000. The plan would also repeal the estate tax, which would save an estimated $200 billion over a decade for individuals with estates worth more than $5.45 million.