The top 20 percent of wage earners who file a tax return pay 95 percent of the taxes in the United States, White House budget director Mick Mulvaney said.
The director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) made the comments during a townhall discussion at Georgetown University's Institute of Politics and Public Service on Wednesday night.
Further, the middle class pays just single digits, Mulvaney said during the discussion about tax reform with moderator Cathy Koch.
"People always ask all the time, ‘Why do you want to give a tax cut to the rich?'" Mulvaney said.
"Here's the math. We have a progressive tax system, which means that if you make $1 million and I make $50,000, we both pay the exact same rate on the first, let's say, $20,000. And then, from the next 20 up to my 50, and her next 20 to her next $50, we pay the same," Mulvaney said. "And then she goes on to pay her higher rate on the stuff that she makes and I stop.
"Well, if you want to give me, the middle class, a cut, take my 15 percent rate down to say 10 percent, and that gives the middle class a cut. Guess who else benefits from that? She does. She pays that same rate on the way up the brackets," Mulvaney said.
"You could sit there and do nothing, but lower the rates on the middle class, and all other things being equal, you're giving the rich a tax cut," Mulvaney said.
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