Money big Cohn offers no specifics, fishy info

THE TRUTH is already taxing for the Trump tax plan.

President Trump’s top economic adviser Gary Cohn essentially admitted Thursday the administration’s newly unveiled tax reform plan will not help the middle class as promised.

He also dodged any explanation for Trump’s false assertion that the new tax scheme would not benefit billionaires like himself.

Appearing on ABC News, Cohn said he could not assure taxes won’t shoot up for some middle-class families under Trump’s proposed plan.

“I can’t guarantee anything,” he said.

“You can always find a unique family somewhere . ... There’s an exception to every rule.”

Cohn claimed the plan is “purely aimed at middle-class families,” though he noted that the benefits would depend on “which state you live in.” He also falsely assured “the wealthy are not getting a tax cut under our plan.”

Cohn’s cryptic comments covered up the effects the tax plan will have on the middle class — something that Trump has also been misrepresenting.

Under Trump’s tax plan, lower-income taxpayers would indeed benefit from an increase in the standard deduction as well as a lift in the income that allows for a $1,000 child care credit.

But the plan would simplify the tax system from seven income brackets to three, and while the highest tax level would go down — from 39.6% to 35% — the lowest level would increase from 10% to 12%.

In other words, the highestpaid Americans can expect heftier tax cuts than the lower classes.

Trump has falsely stated that people like himself — billionaires — will not benefit from the cuts.

The tax plan also calls for an elimination of state and local tax deductions on federal returns — which will take the hardest hit on middle-class taxpayers in higher-taxed states like New York and California.

For example, in New York, 3.2 million residents claim those deductions, and nearly 60% of them would see their taxes jump if the deductions disappeared, according to a study by city Controller Scott Stringer’s office. SOURCE: NEW YORK STATE DEPARTMENT OF TAXATION AND FINANCE ANALYSIS OF 2010 FEDERAL STATISTICS OF INCOME (SOI)

A family that makes $75,000 a year would have to pay an additional $1,800 in taxes.

Meanwhile, the plan eliminates two taxes — the estate tax and the alternative minimum tax — that only wealthy Americans pay.

Trump has for months portrayed his tax plan as a selfless gesture that would cut into his own finances to help the middle class. But nearly every major change it proposes stands to benefit him.

Since Trump has refused to release his tax returns, it is impossible to know in full how much his plan will help his fortune.

At a White House press briefing, Cohn refused to give a direct answer about Trump’s false claims about the tax plan.

He said the administration is “very confident that Americans are getting a great deal here.”

“We have also said wealthy Americans are not getting a tax cut,” he maintained. He insisted Americans were more concerned with how much they would save than how much the President would.

But the former Goldman Sachs CEO didn’t seem too wellversed in budgeting.

To argue for the plan’s supposed middle-class mission, Cohn said a family earning $100,000 with two children could save about $1,000 under the proposal, which could let them “renovate their kitchen” or “buy a new car.”