US benchmarks lose ground as Trump's tax plan emerges

US benchmarks were higher but lost some ground as the Trump administration unveiled its highly-anticipated tax plan this afternoon.

The Dow Jones Industrial Index was up 43 points at 21,039 but down from earlier, while the Nasdaq and S&P500 indices are a shade higher, but later the Dow and S&P500 fell into negative territory, while the Nasdaq was near flat. 

The markets aren’t thrilled with trump’s tax debacle either…

— BlueTrooth (@BlueTrooth) 26 April 2017

The proposals, which saw corporation tax slashed, were unveiled by Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and Trump economic adviser Gary Cohn at the White House.

Corporate tax slashed..

Perhaps the headline move, and one already flagged, was that corporate tax would drop to 15% from 35%.

In addition, US firms will pay little or nothing on earnings from foreign profits.

The tax rate on business income reported on an individual’s return is also set to drop to 15% instead of being taxed at individual tax rates.

“Our objective is to make U.S. businesses the most competitive in the world,” Mnuchin was reported to tell those assembled at the White House.

Determined to unleash economnic growth..

“The president is determined to unleash economic growth for businesses.”

The detail on the plan have been scant, and if passed, it would reportedly be the largest overhaul of the US tax system since the Reagan era.

The US individual income tax brackets would be cut to three from seven currently (10%, 25% and 35%) as well as the big cut the corporation tax.

Democrats and hawk Republicans will be concerned about how much Trump’s proposals will cause the US deficit to increase.

Story by ProactiveInvestors