Fresh off announcing that President-elect Trump selected him to serve as secretary of the treasury, Steven Mnuchin said he and Trump would not seek to cut taxes for high-income earners.
“Any reductions we have in upper-income taxes will be offset by less deductions, so that there will be no absolute tax cut for the upper-class,” Mnuchin said on CNBC. For example, he said they’ll cap mortgage interest deductibility.
In other words, rich guys Mnuchin (estimated net worth $40 million) and Trump ($3.7 billion) called for capping government benefits for rich people.
That’s somewhat similar to a famous conservative tax plan proposed by Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, a couple years ago. That plan would have made the mortgage interest deduction on only the first $300,000 of debt. Former Congressman Dave Camp, R-Mich., proposed a similar cap at $500,000.
Mnuchin did say there would be a “big tax cut” for the middle class. He didn’t delve into what the administration’s definitions of upper and middle classes would be.
Jason Russell is the contributors editor for the Washington Examiner.
