Trump barges into tax debate, seeks deeper cut for wealthy

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump today barged into congressional Republicans' carefully calibrated work on revamping the nation's tax code, calling for a steeper tax cut for wealthy Americans and pressing to add a contentious health care change to the mix.

An analysis showed, meanwhile, the Senate version of the legislation would actually increase taxes for some 13.8 million U.S. households earning less than $200,000 a year.

In a tweet, Trump commended GOP leaders for getting the tax overhaul legislation closer to passage in recent weeks and said, "Cut top rate to 35% w/all of the rest going to middle income cuts?"

That puts him at odds with the House legislation that leaves the top rate at 39.6 percent and the Senate bill as written, with the top rate at 38.5 percent.

Trump also said, "Now how about ending the unfair & highly unpopular individual mandate in (Obama)care and reducing taxes even further?"

The legislation would steeply cut corporate taxes, double the standard deduction used by most Americans, and limit or repeal completely the federal deduction for state and local property, income and sales taxes.

It carries high political stakes for President Donald Trump and Republican leaders in Congress, who view passage of tax cuts as critical to the GOP's success at the polls next year.

Trump and the Republicans have promoted the legislation as a boon to the middle class, bringing tax relief to people with moderate incomes and boosting the economy to create new jobs.

Yet a congressional analysis finds the Senate measure would actually increase taxes in 2019 for 13.8 million households earning less than $200,000 a year. That group, about 10 percent of all taxpayers, would face tax increases of $100 to $500 in 2019, the nonpartisan Joint Committee on Taxation found. There also would be increases greater than $500 for a number of taxpayers, especially those with incomes between $75,000 and $200,000. By 2025, 21.4 million households would have steeper tax bills.

The analysts found a similar magnitude of tax increases under the House bill.