President Donald Trump's tax plan released Wednesday was purposefully short on details because the White House wants to discuss ideas with lawmakers before it forges ahead with a more concrete plan.
Mick Mulvaney, director of the Office of Management and Budget, told CNBC's "Squawk Box" on Thursday morning the administration wants to ease into tax reform.
"There's no way to score what we put out yesterday, and we did it on purpose," said Mulvaney, who noted he has seen estimates the tax plan would add between $2 trillion and $8 trillion to the federal deficit.
"Not to try and hide the numbers, but to say, 'Look, this is the first discussion.'
"We learned a lesson during healthcare, which was that we have to be involved in the process much earlier. And that's what you're seeing."
Mulvaney, who formerly represented South Carolina's 5th district in the House before he took his current White House job, said the administration will now bring its skeleton tax-reform plan to Capitol Hill and seek advice and ideas from lawmakers.
The plan cuts down the number of individual tax brackets from seven to three: 10 percent, 25 percent, and 35 percent. It also doubles the standard deduction for married couples.
Without more details, however, Mulvaney said it is impossible to assign a score to the proposal.
"I think the folks who are saying it's gonna add to the deficit are folks who probably just don't like the president much to begin with," he said.
© 2024 Newsmax. All rights reserved.