Mnuchin: ‘Extraordinary’ if tax reform gets done this year

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Tuesday said it would be “extraordinary” if the Republican Party is able to pull off tax reform by the end of the year.

{mosads}”It took Ronald Reagan over two years on a bipartisan basis to get tax reform done,” Mnuchin said during an interview on Fox News’s “Special Report with Bret Baier.” “If we get it done this year, it will be extraordinary.” 

“Our objective is to get it on the president’s desk by December to get him to sign it this year,” Mnuchin added, but cautioned that there’s “no artificial deadline.”

“We are going to work on it as fast as we can,” the Treasury secretary added.

Mnuchin called the GOP plan to reform the tax code critical to creating a “competitive” environment for American businesses.

“We have to get it done to create economic growth and competitive business system,” Mnuchin said. “We have one of the highest corporate tax rates in the world. We tax on worldwide income. We have a concept of deferral to leave the money offshore, you don’t pay taxes. Trillions of dollars are sitting offshore.”

“This is all about making American business competitive,” he added.

On Monday, Trump made similar remarks at a press conference with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), where he cautioned that Congress still has a “long way” to go on tax reform.

“I would like to see it be done this year,” Trump said. “But don’t forget it took years for the Reagan administration to get taxes done — I’ve been here for nine months.”

“We could have a long way to go but that’s okay,” he added.