Trump administration unveils ambitious tax cut plan

The White House unveiled an ambitious tax overhaul plan on Wednesday, proposing huge cuts for individuals and businesses in what it called one of the "biggest" tax reforms in US history.

The plan unveiled by Donald Trump's administration lowers the corporate tax rate "from one of the highest in the world to one of the lowest," at 15 percent.

It also reduces the top tax rate assessed on pass-through businesses, including small partnerships and sole proprietorships, to 15 percent from 39.6 percent, the White House said.

The reform would lower the individual tax burden across the board, affecting millions of Americans, but would also eliminate "targeted tax breaks that mainly benefit the wealthiest taxpayers," the White House added.

The plan was unveiled at the White House by Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and Trump's economic adviser Gary Cohn.

Cohn dubbed the proposed plan "the most significant tax reform legislation since 1986, and one of the biggest tax cuts in American history."

Pro-rich plan?

Mnuchin called the proposals "core principles" that would be worked on with Congress to produce a bill that can be passed. He said the plan would pay for itself through economic growth, and by reducing tax deductions and closing loopholes.

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer assailed the plan and took a jab at Trump, a wealthy New York real estate developer.

"If the president's plan is to give a massive tax break to the very wealthy in this country - a plan that will mostly benefit people and businesses like President Trump's - that won't pass muster with we Democrats," he said in a statement.