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Trump lays out new tax overhaul plan

The Republican presidential candidate formally announced what he hinted at Sunday night in an interview on CBS's '60 Minutes.'

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Shannon Stapleton/REUTERS
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a news conference to reveal his tax policy at Trump Tower in Manhattan, New York September 28, 2015.
  • By Jill Colvin Associated Press

| Washington

Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump is calling for an overhaul of the tax code that would eliminate income taxes for millions of Americans, while lowering them for the highest-income earners and business.

The plan unveiled Monday would eliminate federal income taxes on individuals earning less than $25,000 and married couples earning less than $50,000.

But the plan would also benefit businesses and the rich. It would lower the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 15 percent and lower the highest income tax rate from 39.6 percent to 25 percent.

But Trump said the plan would also impact the wealthy by reducing or eliminating most deductions and loopholes.

"In other words, it's going to cost me a fortune," he said at a news conference at his Trump Tower skyscraper in Manhattan.

Trump wants to eliminate the so-called "carried interest loophole" that allows managers of hedge funds and private equity firms to pay a lower tax rate than most individuals.

The billionaire real estate mogul says the country would pay for the tax cuts through a combination of eliminating deductions and loopholes. He also wants to allow corporations to bring money held in overseas accounts back to the United States after paying a one-time tax of 10 percent.

In sum, he says, the changes he wants to enact would not add to the annual federal budget deficit or the national debt.

"We have an amazing code," Trump said of his tax system. "It will be simple. It will be easy. It will be fair."

Trump estimated that his plan would lead the economy to grow at least 3 percent a year, and as much as 5 or 6 percent.

The tax plan is the third major policy proposal from Trump, who has also outlined plans for immigration and guns. He has been criticized for failing to unveil specific policy proposals as he's risen in early preference polling.

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