Washington: US President Donald Trump is sending Congress a $4.1 trillion spending plan that relies on faster economic growth and steep cuts to programmes supporting low-income individuals to balance the government’s books over the next decade. During the campaign, Trump attacked the weak economic growth of the Obama years and pledged that his economic programme would boost growth from the lackluster 2% rates seen since the recovery began in mid-2009. Trump’s new budget is based on sustained growth above 3%, sharply higher than the expectations of most private economists. Other cuts in Trump’s budget include reductions in pension benefits for federal workers, in part by requiring employees to make higher contributions. On taxes, Trump promises an overhaul that would cut tax rates but rely on erasing tax breaks and economic growth to avoid adding to the deficit.

Source: Mint May 23, 2017 13:07 UTC