Part of Trump’s tax proposal would penalize Californians

For one, the plan seeks to cut individual tax brackets from seven to three.

We know the Trump plan would kill itemized deductions except for mortgage interest and charitable contributions. Provide tax relief to American families – especially middle income families. Today, “the basic 1040 form has 70 lines, and 211 pages of instructions”.

But Viard says the tax unfairly hurts households that have spent a lifetime building up savings.

After President George W. Bush cut taxes in 2001 and 2003, the economy never achieved liftoff, bumping along at an average growth of 2.1 percent annually for eight years. The mortgage interest and charitable contributions deductions would stay, but that wouldn’t matter if numerous 600,000 Long Islanders who itemize could no longer do so. Under current law, they would be entitled to a $12,600 standard deduction and $20,250 of personal exemptions, for a total tax benefit of $32,850. He boasts that he’s worth more than $10 billion and counting, and even the most conservative independent experts put him safely above the estate-tax minimum. But for pass-through businesses, he’d cut it even more: to just 15 percent. The 3.8 percent Obamacare tax on dividends and capitals gains will be repealed.

Let’s not refer to this as “eliminating the death tax”.

But the proposal would also eliminate the practice of deducting state income taxes and local property taxes from federal income taxes, and that could harm taxpayers in states with high local taxes, like NY.

The package is expected to hike the individual’s standard deduction, providing modest cut for middle-income people and abridging the process of filing tax returns, as people briefed its details.

“I think the American population has plenty of information”, said Mnuchin, who – inaccurately, the AP noted – suggested that Trump “has given more financial disclosure than anybody else”.

“I can’t make any guarantees until this thing is done and on the President’s desk, but I can tell you that’s our number one objective in this”, Mnuchin said. Also up for discussion is the “marriage penalty” and the rate for freelance workers. The other rates would reportedly by 25 percent and 10 percent. They include everything from the corner grocery store and other Main Street businesses, to big accounting firms, medical practices and private investment partnerships like hedge funds.

“Not a surprise that companies leave trillions of dollars offshore”, he commented.

“Although the exact details will need to worked out by lawmakers, Trump’s tax blueprint contains many good starting points for lawmakers to use along the road to reforming America’s tax code”.

The tax rate for businesses would drop from 35 percent to 15 percent, seeking to put the USA on a par with low-tax countries, and create and retain jobs.

“We will make it a territorial system”. With about $230 billion in overseas cash on its balance sheet, Apple alone now accounts for about 10% of the total offshore profits held abroad by US firms. This would affect not only corporations (C corporations) but also small businesses that are structured as partnerships or S Corporations.

President Donald Trump’s tax plan leaves much of the heavy lifting to Congress, while ignoring years of hard work by the guy who will have to do a lot of that lifting: House Speaker Paul Ryan.