Congress

White House and Congressional Leaders Scrap Import-Based Tax

They say in a joint statement they're "confident" a border tax system is no longer needed to reduce rates

Trump administration officials and congressional leaders are no longer considering an import-based tax system to rewrite the tax code. That had been contemplated to lower rates without blowing a hole in the budget.

They say in a joint statement they're "confident" a border tax system is no longer needed to reduce rates. The Republican majority in the House had been pushing the border tax to prevent a ballooning budget deficit.

The statement provided few details about the intended tax overhaul that Congress is supposed to consider this fall.

"The big pieces are simplification and helping take off the relief for the middle class," press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said at the White House press briefing Thursday.

The joint statement came from Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, White House economics aide Gary Cohn, House Speaker Paul Ryan, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch and House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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