The dream of tax reform by August is dead.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin acknowledged for the first time Tuesday that the Trump administration’s big push for tax reform will not be completed by the August recess, a target that he had previously set, saying that it is “clear now we’re not going to get that done by August.”
Nevertheless, Mnuchin said at an event hosted by the Peter G. Peterson Foundation, he “would hope” that tax reform gets done this year. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has suggested that 2018 is a more realistic goal.
The legislative process for tax reform has been slowed partly by Congress’ struggles to move healthcare legislation and free up the calendar. Before moving to tax reform, Congress also must pass a budget and take care of other pressing priorities.
Mnuchin, however, ruled out settling for a less-expansive tax bill.
“It is critical that we do comprehensive tax reform,” he said, saying that the overhaul must reform both the individual and the corporate sides of the tax code.
Appearing just as the White House was set to release its fiscal 2018 budget request, Mnuchin suggested that the legislation, when it is hammered out with Senate and House Republicans, won’t cost “anything like” the roughly $5 trillion that the administration’s outline of tax goals was estimated to add to the deficit.
