Trump claims he will ‘probably pay more’ under new tax plan

President Trump on Friday pushed back on criticism that his tax plan will help the wealthy, claiming that he will personally pay more in taxes under the new system, despite not having released details on his taxes.

“If I am individually paying 35 percent, I will tell you that’s more. OK? I’m gonna end up paying more than I pay right now in taxes,” Trump said in an interview on Fox News, pointing to tax deductions he plans to eliminate.

“The reason I am going to pay more is because I lose all the deductions. They have deductions on top of deductions … things you’ve never heard of before,” Trump said.

“All of it goes away, other than charitable deductions, which we think is important to keep, and interest deductions, which we think is important to keep,” he added.

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“So I predict I will probably pay more than I am paying right now.”

Trump has faced continued criticism over his refusal to release his tax returns, with Democrats signaling his refusal to release them could complicate GOP plans for tax reform.

Based on limited tax information from Trump, The New York Times on Friday reported that the real estate tycoon could save tens of millions of dollars in one year under his new tax proposal.

Looking at Trump’s 2005 tax return information that emerged last month, the Times concluded that Trump could save $31 million from repealing the Alternative Minimum Tax, which accounted for 80 percent of his total 2005 income tax payment.

Another sizable area of savings could come from Trump’s proposal to allow some individuals to qualify for a reduced tax rate of 15 percent.

That change could influence a number of Trump’s businesses, and save the president $10.4 million on business income and $16.6 million on real estate and other income, based on the analysis.