Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., ridiculed the Trump administration's tax reform proposal, calling it "massive transfer of wealth" and the "robin hood principle in reverse."
"This is just really bad policy, and I'm not clear why anybody would support a proposal which gives massive amounts of tax breaks to the people who don't need it — at a time of incredible income and wealth inequality in America," Sen. Sanders told ABC's "This Week" on Sunday. "If anything right now what we must be demanding is that the wealthiest people in the country start finally paying their fair share of the taxes."
Pointing to the attempts to cut Medicaid while reducing taxes, Sen. Sanders blasted the tax reform planned unveiled this week.
"What this is is a massive transfer of wealth," Sanders told ABC's George Stephanopoulos. "It's the robin hood principle in reverse. Taking from working families and low-income people and giving to it the superrich and creating a $1.5 trillion deficit."
Sen. Sanders did express support of the piece of the tax plan which helps the middle class.
"Well, I think we have got to focus on the needs of the middle class and working families of this country," Sanders said. "Those are the people who need help, not the top 1 percent.
". . . Well, I think you can raise the standard deduction. I think what Trump was talking about is right, but he gives with one hand and takes away with the other by repealing the personal exemption. We also need to expand and improve the Earned Income Tax Credit to help working families. So, there's a lot that can be done.
"But bottom line is when you have massive income and wealth inequality, when the rich are getting richer and most Americans are getting poorer, you don't give tax breaks to billionaires, you give tax breaks to the people in need."
Sen. Sanders specifically ripped the "estate tax," which is also called the "death tax," which would reduces taxes on transferring wealth for the wealthiest families.
"This is not a tax break for the rich? Well, I don't know what a tax break for the rich is," he told Stephanopoulos.