Presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump backtracked Monday on his recent comments that the rich would pay more in taxes than his initial plan called for, saying everyone would still get a tax cut.
“I may have to increase it on the wealthy — I’m not going to allow it to be increased on the middle class,” Trump told Chris Cuomo on CNN. “Now, if I increase it on the wealthy that means they’re still going to be paying less than they are paying now. I’m talking about increasing it from my tax proposal.”
Trump’s official tax plan would would drop the top income tax bracket from about 40 percent to 25 percent. But while making the rounds on the Sunday show circuit, he said his proposal was merely a jumping off point for negotiations with Democrats, rather than a plan set in stone.
“On my plan [tax rates for the rich] are going down,” he said Sunday. “But by the time it’s negotiated, they’ll go up. “Look, when I’m negotiating with the Democrats, I’m putting in a plan. I’m putting in my optimum plan.”
Trump’s comments Sunday were interpreted as a sign he might actually increase taxes on the rich, but according to his follow up comments Monday, there’s no question the rich will get a tax break. It’s just a matter of how big or small that might be.
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