Trump working on 'substantial' tax cut for middle-income Americans
President Trump on Thurday said he is working on a "substantial" tax cut for middle-income Americans, without diving into many details.
During a speech before House Republicans in Baltimore, Maryland, at an annual retreat, he said the measure would be "very, very inspirational," adding that it's going to be something that "everyone's really looking for."
"It will be a very, very substantial tax cut for middle-income folks, who work so hard," he said.
The president said details would be released in the coming year.
The announcement -- which was made as the Democratic presidential candidates were tossing verbal jabs about his economic policies in a nationally televised debate -- comes after the president has recently wavered on a couple of tax reform proposals, including indexing capital gains and a temporary payroll tax cut.
He met with top White House economic advisers on Wednesday to discuss indexing capital gains to inflation, which he initially supported then backed away from.
Capital gains taxes are levied on the difference between what an individual originally paid for a property or investment vs. what it sells for -- at the time it is sold. Indexing capital gains means investors could adjust their cost basis for inflation – so only gains that exceed the rate of inflation would be taxed.
Proponents argue that inflation erodes the value of an investment over time, so a portion of what is taxed is not a “real return.”
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act was signed into law by President Trump in 2017, one of the most significant overhauls of the U.S. tax code in decades.