Politics

Paul Ryan Responds To Bannon’s Proposed Tax Hike

REUTERS/Joshua Roberts

Kerry Picket Political Reporter
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WASHINGTON — House Speaker Paul Ryan stuck to Republicans’ original plan when asked by The Daily Caller about his thoughts related to White House adviser Steve Bannon’s reportedly proposed 44 percent tax on Americans making $5 million or more.

“The last thing I’m going to do is negotiate tax reform in public. You know me all too well. Our tax writers are the ones that are going to be writing this bill,” Ryan responded at his weekly presser. “We’re working to get a consensus as a framework, so that our tax writers, ways and means, and Senate Finance can actually go write this legislation.” (RELATED: Report: Steve Bannon Wants 44% Tax Rate For The Very Rich)

He added, “What we were not interested in doing is negotiating in public what those committees would be doing.”

The current rate on the top tax bracket of high earning Americans is 39.6 percent. Convincing Republicans in Congress, as well as members of the Trump administration, may be a monumental task for Bannon to achieve.

However, Trump himself did not close the door on the idea completely. In an interview with The Wall Street Journal this week, he said, “If there’s upward revision it’s going to be on high-income people.”

This suggestion, however, contradicts the tax plan the White House released earlier in the year that lowered the top bracket to 35 percent.

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