Julie Jacobson/AP
Good news! Donald Trump’s tax plan is out. He claims it’s revenue neutral, and, remarkably, doesn’t claim that this is because of dynamic effects that will supercharge the economy. It’s just plain revenue neutral. But let’s put aside this extremely unlikely claim for the moment and look instead only at how Trump’s plan affects his rich golfing buddies. Here are all the aspects of the plan that benefit the rich:
- Cut the top marginal rate from 39.6 percent to 25 percent
- Eliminate the Alternative Minimum Tax
- Eliminate the estate tax
- Cut the corporate tax rate to 15 percent
You will note that these are all very specific proposals. When it comes to lowering taxes, everything is described in loving detail, with exact numbers attached. Now let’s take a look at the aspects of Trump’s plan that will hurt the rich:
- Steepen the curve of the Personal Exemption Phaseout and the Pease Limitation on itemized
deductions - Phase out the tax exemption on life insurance interest for high-income earners
- End the current tax treatment of carried interest for speculative partnerships that do not grow businesses or create jobs and are not risking their own capital
- Reduce or eliminate other loopholes for the very rich and special interests
That’s…considerably less detailed, isn’t it? Revenue-wise, the first three are small potatoes anyway, so it hardly matters. All the action is in the fourth one. There is exactly zero detail there, except for this: “Charitable giving and mortgage interest deductions will remain unchanged for all taxpayers.” Trump can be specific when he wants to be, but he only wants to be when he’s describing the way taxes for the rich will go down or be unaffected.
Here’s the bottom line: The sum total of Trump’s plan to offset his huge tax cuts for the rich is this: “Reduce or eliminate other loopholes for the very rich and special interests”—except for two of the biggest ones, of course. Take that, you pencil-necked geeks at the Tax Policy Center, who want to use “arithmetic” and “logic” to score Trump’s plan to see if it adds up. You can’t! Hah!
