Treasury Secretary: Trump 'Has No Intention' Of Releasing Tax Returns
WASHINGTON (CBS SF/AP) -- The U.S. treasury secretary says President Donald Trump "has no intention" of releasing his taxes returns to the public.
Steve Mnuchin made the comment while briefing reporters on the president's new proposed tax plan Wednesday, which would slash the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 15 percent.
Trump has repeatedly refused to make his past returns public, breaking decades of tradition. He says it's because his taxes are being audited by the IRS.
While it's impossible to know for sure without access to his returns, Trump's proposed tax plan could save the president and his family significantly.
Mnuchin declined to comment on that potential conflict of interest.
Since January, various polls have shown a majority of Americans believe Trump should release his tax returns as other presidents have done. Meanwhile, more than a million people have signed a White House petition calling for the release of his tax returns.
White House economic adviser Gary Cohn said Trump's tax plan would cut the top income tax rate from 39.6 percent to 35 percent. It also would reduce the number of personal income tax brackets to three from seven. The new tax rates would be 10 percent, 25 percent and 35 percent.
The plan would also double the standard deduction for married couples to $24,000, while keeping deductions for charitable giving and mortgage interest payments. The plan would trim other deductions used by high-income Americans, including state and local tax payments.
It would also repeal the estate tax, the catch-all alternative minimum tax and the 3.8 percent tax on investment income from President Barack Obama's health care law.
Mnuchin shrugged off concerns that the tax cuts would another $6 trillion to the federal budget debt over the next 10 years, as a Congressional Budget Office report warned in January.
Mnuchin said the plan would boost annual economic growth to 3% and "that growth will pay for the plan."
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