Steve Mnuchin in Trump campaign vs. Trump administration
On Free Trade:
Protectionist instinct to label China a currency manipulator
One of Mnuchin's challenges will be to live up to Trump's promises on trade. Mnuchin is thought to share his boss's protectionist instincts. He will determine trade policy alongside Wilbur Ross, Trump's nominee for commerce secretary. Ross is a vocal
critic of recent trade deals. At the commerce department, he will oversee trade enforcement, such as the imposition of tariffs. At the Treasury, Mnuchin will have such responsibilities as declaring China a currency manipulator.
Source: The Economist newsmagazine coverage of 2016 Trump transition
Dec 3, 2016
On Tax Reform:
No net tax cut for the highest earners
Mnuchin's first main challenge will be to get Trump's fiscal policy straight. During the campaign Trump proposed tax cuts that would, according to the Tax Foundation, a right-leaning think-tank, give the top 1% of earners a
tax cut worth, on average, 12%-20% of their incomes. But Mnuchin told CNBC that there would be no net tax cut for the highest earners.
Source: The Economist newsmagazine coverage of 2016 Trump transition
Dec 3, 2016
On Tax Reform:
Extra $400M for IRS budget, IT, services, & staff
Following a Trump administration budget request that would cut IRS cybersecurity enhancement funding nearly in half and cut thousands of jobs from taxpayer services, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin urged House lawmakers to give the agency an extra
funding boost to help implement the president's new tax reform law.Testifying before a subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee, Mnuchin stressed the importance of giving the IRS nearly $400 million annually for fiscal years 2018 and 2019
to help implement the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
Since 2010, Congress has cut the IRS budget by nearly $1 billion, and more than 17,000 employees have left the agency. In President Donald Trump's fiscal 2019 budget request, the IRS would see another $100
million decrease in its overall funding.
About $291 million would be spent updating the IRS' IT systems. Another $75 million would go to taxpayer services, a department the Trump administration seeks to shrink by 8.7% and 4,000 employees in FY 2019.
Source: Federal News Radio on 2018 Trump Administration
Mar 6, 2018
On Technology:
Infrastructure bank to fund federal projects
Before the election Trump criticised his opponent's plan for an infrastructure bank "controlled by politicians and bureaucrats" and proposed using tax credits to encourage private investment instead.
Yet Mnuchin suggested in mid-November that the incoming administration is looking at starting an infrastructure bank after all.
Source: The Economist newsmagazine coverage of 2016 Trump transition
Dec 3, 2016
Page last updated: Nov 02, 2024