President Donald Trump told friends at his lavish Mar-a-Lago club “you all just got a lot richer” after the passage of his tax cut legislation, CBS News reported Sunday.
Trump reportedly made the remark during dinner on Friday at the exclusive Florida resort, where initiation fees cost $200,000, just hours after he signed the bill into law. Asked for comment by CBS News, the White House on Saturday stood by its claims that the legislation would benefit the middle class.
While households at every income level will see a tax cut next year, wealthy taxpayers would benefit the most from the bill, according to independent analysts. The heart of the measure is a massive corporate tax cut ― a permanent reduction in the top rate from 35 percent to 21 percent. Most tax cuts for individuals, however, are set to expire in eight years.
The remarks Trump reportedly made on Friday also seemingly contradict a promise he made several months ago when he first began pitching his tax proposal to Congress.
“The rich will not be gaining at all with this plan,” Trump said after a Sept. 12 meeting with lawmakers at the White House.
“We are looking for the middle class, and we are looking for jobs, jobs being the economy. So, we’re looking at middle class, and we’re looking at jobs,” he added.
Trump’s friends likely won’t be the only ones who stand to gain from the tax cut legislation. The president himself is set to save $11 million a year from a single rule change in the bill, according to Forbes.