Mnuchin sees $1 trillion revenue growth from U.S. tax overhaul

Reuters  |  WASHINGTON 

By David Lawder

(Reuters) - U. S. Steven said on Friday he believed the Republican cuts will ultimately become neutral over 10 years due to higher growth, but the will likely ask for more money to implement the plan.

"We think there will be over $1 trillion in growth, so I do think this will pay for itself," said at an event hosted by the Economic Club of Washington, dismissing estimates from the that the cuts will increase U. S. deficits by $1.1 trillion to $1.5 trillion over 10 years.

said that for modelling purposes, the plan assumes 2.9 percent annual U.

S. growth, but "we do think we can get to three percent or higher."

said the was talking to about additional funding to aid implementation of the plan, which cuts rates for businesses and many individuals but significantly pares back deductions such as those for state and local taxes and mortgage interest.

"We will hire a significant number of people to help with the implementation," he said.

reiterated the need for to raise the debt ceiling whenever the government gets close to its statutory borrowing limit. He added he did not believe would allow the government to shut down when its funding authority expires on Jan. 19.

"I think it will either be resolved, or there will be another CR to extend this," he said, referring to a short-term 'continuing resolution' funding bill.

CRYPTOCURRENCY REGULATION

Asked about risks from cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin, which has seen a tremendous run-up in value in recent months, said the had formed a working group to monitor such currencies through the interagency

His main concern was to keep criminal and terrorist organizations from using cryptocurrencies "to do bad things," he said.

said he would work with Group of 20 major economies to promote U. S.-style rules that require bitcoin issuers to know and vet their customers, similar to requirements for normal banks.

"One of the things we will be working with the on is making sure that this doesn't become the Swiss numbered bank account," he said of cryptocurrencies.

said he was concerned about making sure that consumers fully understood the risks of investing in bitcoin.

Regarding central banks that are considering issuing digital currencies instead of physical currencies, said: "The Fed and we don't think there's any need for that at this point."

(Editing by and Bernadette Baum)

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

First Published: Sat, January 13 2018. 00:13 IST