Trump on road trip to promote tax reform plan

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump hit the road Wednesday on a tour to sell tax reform to everyday Americans and lawmakers, but this campaign pledge is still very short on details.

Trump was to visit Springfield, Missouri a day after touring hurricane-ravaged southeastern Texas.

An administration official said the goal of Trump’s speech in the Midwest is more to explain why America needs tax reform, rather than the nitty gritty of what he wants to change.

“The president wants to take this conversation directly to the American people,” the official said.

Trump will explain that the US tax code is simply broken and in fact six times longer than it was in 1955, the official said.

The Trump administration’s stated goal is to adopt tax reform by the end of the year, but that’s a tall task both technically and politically.

A lot of key questions remain on the Trump tax plan, which is at the heart of the administration’s goal of achieving yearly economic growth of at least three percent.

For instance, the administration has not stated publicly what will be the precise scope of Trump’s tax reforms. The tax code in the US has not been modified significantly since 1986.

Trump said in April he wants to lower the tax rate on businesses to 15 percent, but it is not clear if this rate will remain or ultimately be revised upward.