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- White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders admitted that the GOP tax plan “could” benefit President Donald Trump.
- Trump has said the plan will hurt him.
- He stands to see a multi-million dollar windfall as a result of several changes to the tax code included in the GOP plan.
White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders made an admission during Tuesday’s press briefing that the Republican tax plan “could” benefit President Donald Trump.
Through changes in how pass-through income is taxed, the estate tax, and the alternative minimum tax, Trump could see a multi-million dollar windfall following passage of the Republican tax plan, which could be signed by the president as soon as this week.
But Trump has long insisted that the plan would not benefit him. In fact, he said the plan would actually hurt him compared to the current US tax code.
With the House voting to pass Congress’ agreed-upon legislation Tuesday, Sanders was peppered with questions about how the plan would benefit the president.
“In some ways, particularly on the personal side, the president will likely take a big hit,” she said. “But on the business side he could benefit. But the biggest focus for this White House is that all Americans are better off today than they are beforehand.”
Pressed on why Trump will not release his tax returns to make clear to the American people how the legislation would impact his personal bottom line, Sanders said the returns would not be released because they were “still under audit,” a rationale Trump and the White House have used for the better part of two years to explain why he is not releasing the returns. An IRS audit does not preclude someone from making their returns public.
Still, Sanders was repeatedly pressed on Trump’s claim that the plan would hurt him.
“It likely will, certainly on the personal side, could cost the president a lot of money,” she said, again doubling down on the assertion that the main priority of the plan is “middle-class Americans.”
She said the president has not done a “side-by-side” comparison of what his finances would look like after both the changes to the individual and business tax codes are factored in.
“I do know there are a number of provisions that would negatively impact the president, so we maintain that” his claims the plan would be a negative for his bottom line are “consistent,” she said.
