In U-turn, Trump says he expects to raise taxes on rich

[WASHINGTON] Donald Trump signaled in remarks broadcast Sunday that he would consider raising taxes on wealthy Americans, and that his tax plan unveiled so far was not set in stone.

Asked on ABC's "This Week" to clarify his stance on taxation, the presumptive Republican nominee said he did not expect his proposals for cutting taxes across the board to make it intact through the US Congress.

"By the time it gets negotiated, it's going to be a different plan," Mr Trump said.

"And in my opinion the taxes for the rich will go up somewhat."

"I am willing to pay more. And do you know what? The wealthy are willing to pay more," he added.

Mr Trump's tax plan - his most detailed policy proposal so far - vows to eliminate taxes for half of all households, and slash taxes for the middle and upper classes, while closing beneficial loopholes for the very wealthiest.

"The thing I'm going to do is make sure the middle class gets good tax breaks," Mr Trump said.

"The other thing, I'm going to fight very hard for business. For the wealthy, I think frankly it's going to go up.

"You know what, it really should go up."

The main focus of Mr Trump's tax plan unveiled last September is on reducing business income tax to a flat rate of 15 per cent.

Under the plan, some 50 per cent of US households would pay no federal income tax because they earned less than US$50,000 - up from 43 per cent who paid no tax in 2013 according to the Tax Policy Center.

Under a simplified tax code, the three other brackets would be 10 per cent, 20 per cent, and 25 per cent, the latter for households with income of US$300,000 or more.

The current top bracket is 39.6 per cent for individuals making more than US$413,000.

While Mr Trump's highest rate is dramatically lower, he would also end many existing deductions that wealthy Americans have used to reduce their tax burden.

AFP