Trump says not looking at changing capital gains tax

[August 22, 2019]    WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday said he is not looking to index capital gains taxes to the inflation rate, which could slash the taxes that investors pay on profits from asset sales, or to cut payroll taxes.

With a painting of George Washington in the background, U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during his meeting with Romania's President Klaus Iohannis in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, U.S. August 20, 2019. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

"I've studied indexing for a long time and I think it will be perceived - if I do it - as somewhat elitist. I don't want to do that," Trump told reporters at the White House. "I think indexing is really probably better for the upper-income groups."

On Tuesday, Trump had said he was seriously considering indexing capital gains to inflation and that the White House has been thinking about cutting the payroll taxes that fund the Medicare health insurance program for the elderly and Social Security.

But on Wednesday he said the U.S. economy was strong and did not need the tax reductions.

(Reporting by Jeff Mason; writing by Lisa Lambert; editing by Jonathan Oatis and Nick Zieminski)

[© 2019 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

Copyright 2019 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.  Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.