Mnuchin, Kudlow Say Congressional Vote Needed for Capital Gains Cut

(Bloomberg) -- The White House isn’t considering an executive order to carry out President Donald Trump’s call for a cut in the capital gains tax because Congress probably would have to change the rate, administration officials said.

“Structural changes to tax rates,” said Larry Kudlow, Trump’s top economic adviser, “likely require congressional legislation.” Asked by reporters at the White House if the administration is considering cutting the tax unilaterally, Kudlow responded, “That is not the case.”

Trump said Monday he was “very seriously” considering a capital-gains tax cut, without specifying how it would be carried out.

Trump, facing an impasse on Capitol Hill over a coronavirus relief package, has been tapping his presidential authority to bypass Congress. The president issued an executive directive on Saturday that would delay the deadline to submit payroll taxes for millions of workers until the end of the year.

Trump cannot cut the 20% long-term capital gains levy on his own, but some of his advisers have told him he could slash tax bills for investors by indexing the rate to inflation. The Trump administration weighed the idea last year before shelving it.

Kudlow’s remarks on the capital-gains tax echo those from Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who told Fox Business Network earlier Wednesday that “we do need legislation to do what we want on that front.”

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