Trump will talk tax reform in Pennsylvania speech

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Trump to share stories, talk truckers in tax reform speech

Kevin Corke has the story.

President Donald Trump will head to Harrisburg, Pa., on Wednesday to speak to a handpicked crowd of truckers, state lawmakers and manufacturers regarding his much anticipated tax reform plan.

Roughly 1,000 individuals were invited to attend the speech, which will take place inside a hangar at an Air National Guard base and feature actual trucks surrounding the president. PennLlive.com reported.

The president is expected to use the platform to address his proposal of eliminating the estate tax, which he and some congressional Republicans claim will provide relief for small business owners, as the tax causes “hell” and forces them out of business, the Hill reported.

Trump also will likely introduce people in the crowd as living examples to illustrate his view that the estate tax negatively affects families, PennLive.com reported.

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However, the Congress’s Joint Committee on Taxation argues abolishing the estate tax, also known as the “death tax,” would mainly benefit the wealthy, as only 0.2 percent of Americans pay estate tax. One-percenters pay 27 percent of the total, the Hill reported.

Trump also will devote a significant portion of his speech to truckers, a “major beneficiary” of the tax plan, which proposes to lower the corporate tax rate to around 20 percent, although Trump hopes to see that number at 15 percent, a senior White House official told PennLive.com.

The tax alleviation would also allow manufacturers to spend more on production, thus providing truckers with more driving opportunities.

In addition, Republican lawmakers are also looking to reframe the current individual tax rate, from 39.6 percent to 35 percent, as well as simplify the complex tax code, and “deliver the lowest tax rates on businesses in modern history," Rep. Kevin Brady, R-Texas, head of the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee, told reporters on Capitol Hill.

Not much detail has been revealed about one of Trump’s most sought-after campaign promises, which has become front and center following Republicans' several failed attempts to repeal and replace ObamaCare.

Meanwhile, Fox News’ Sean Hannity will have an exclusive sitdown interview with the president in Pennsylvania ahead of his speech Wednesday evening. Their conversation will cover everything from tax reform to trending news topics, as well as Trump’s 70-point immigration plan.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.