White House officials are looking at a strategy to pass a sharp, short-term tax cut if President Trump’s effort to pursue a broader overhaul of the tax code falters, according to multiple people briefed on the administration’s planning.

The plan for a more narrow tax cut, which officials could begin pursuing as soon as September, is a recognition of the challenges the broader overhaul faces, with Republicans struggling to find consensus.

The administration officials are willing to consider multiple scenarios if the tax code overhaul that Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn are hashing out with congressional Republicans fails to come together, according to the people briefed, who requested anonymity in order to speak about internal deliberations.

The top advocates for the targeted tax cut have been Larry Kudlow and Steve Moore, who were both top economic advisers during Trump’s campaign and remain in frequent contact with officials in the West Wing.

Kudlow met with top NEC staffers two weeks ago and also had a private meeting with Trump, in which he urged them to consider pursuing tax cuts this year if they are unable to marshal agreement on a broader change to the tax code.

“I’ve been down there several times,” said Kudlow. “I feel like I’m a bullpen closer.”

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Kudlow and Moore have been pitching a plan they call “Three Easy Pieces,” which would – for 10 years – cut the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 15 percent, double the standardized deduction that millions of Americans claim in their taxes, and allow companies to bring money back from overseas without a significant tax penalty.

Moore said these changes would likely cost between $2 trillion and $3 trillion over 10 years, but he said it would give a jolt to economic growth and allow White House and congressional Republicans to to look at a broader revamp of the tax code.

This plan would be a major departure from what Mnuchin and Cohn have worked on for months, and both men have not shown much interest in entertaining the idea so far, people close to the discussions said. Mnuchin and Cohn are looking at ways to cut taxes but also eliminate numerous tax breaks to offset some – but not all – of the lost revenue. House and Senate Republican leaders have also so far remained in lockstep that they should stay focused on overhauling the tax code, not targeted tax cuts.

Mnuchin, meeting with agriculture industry officials in the White House on Tuesday, told them he and Cohn were still very committed to the rewriting the tax code, something that hasn’t happened in more than 30 years. They are hoping to advance a joint agreement with House and Senate Republicans by September.


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