U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the White House is committed to a tax overhaul that includes corporate and individual tax cuts, while acknowledging it may be a challenge to get it completed by August.
“We’re going to do tax reform as absolute -- we are reforming both personal and the corporate side,” Mnuchin said Friday during an event in Washington organized by media company Axios. “We aren’t cutting this up.”
Mnuchin’s comments come as President Donald Trump and House Republicans struggle to agree over provisions in a health bill to repeal and replace Obamacare that was scheduled for a Friday vote. Some Republican lawmakers have warned that if the health bill fails, their goals of tax cuts could be imperiled.
In February, Trump had promised a “phenomenal” tax plan within two or three weeks.
White House Budget Director Mick Mulvaney on Friday said the White House will be taking the lead on pushing the tax overhaul -- and that the president is working on that plan now.
“When you see tax reform the first time, it will be the president’s plan and we’ll drive the debate on that,” Mulvaney said during an interview on ABC’s “Good Morning America.”
Mnuchin has previously said tax legislation would be completed by Congress’s August recess. On Friday, he said he’s still optimistic about the August target, but signaled a tax overhaul by the fall may be more likely. House Speaker Paul Ryan has said the GOP is committed to an August deadline.
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.