White House wants to give another tax cut to the rich — and get around Congress to do it

The Trump administration is considering a plan to once again cut taxes for the ultra-wealthy, following up on the failed GOP tax scam.

“The White House is developing a plan to cut taxes by indexing capital gains to inflation,” Bloomberg reported on Thursday, noting that the plan “would largely benefit the wealthy.”

Trump would enact the giveaway through a rule or executive order, bypassing Congress, where it would most likely face massive opposition from Democrats.

Investors would see their tax bills cut when they sell assets like stock or real estate.

If enacted, the plan would be overwhelmingly biased in favor of the top 1%, who Bloomberg noted would receive “86% of the benefit.”

Trump’s plan would reduce tax revenue — needed for vital government operations — by $102 billion over a decade.

“I’m thinking about it very strongly,” Trump told Bloomberg last year while discussing the scheme.

Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) described the idea as a plot to “continue looting the Treasury” in a statement to Bloomberg.  He noted that it was an indication that “Republicans must be nervous about Donald Trump’s re-election chances” if they’re considering using executive power to enact the changes.

Wyden said Trump’s “primary goal is to further slash taxes for himself and his wealthy political allies,” and said cutting taxes this way “would be plainly illegal.”

The Republican tax scam passed in 2017 was heavily biased in favor of the super-rich and has been an absolute failure.

Republicans, led by Trump, said that cutting taxes for major corporations and the rich would stimulate major economic growth. But it didn’t.

“It’s difficult to overstate just how weak the tax law’s influence was. Investments in US businesses did not seem to respond at all to the law’s provisions,” Vox noted, summarizing findings from the Congressional Research Service.

The capital gains cut idea shows that instead of learning from his mistakes, Trump is considering doubling down on them.

He wants the richest Americans to get a break, even if it hurts the most vulnerable.

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.