Trump talked about the plan to give middle class 10% tax cut yesterday. He said “we’re putting in a resolution some time in the next week and a half to two weeks [and] we’re giving a middle-income tax reduction of about 10 percent.” He insisted that the plan will go through Congress rather than executive order. And the vote will be done after mid-term election.
But the initiative is widely criticized as unsubstantiated as Republican congressional leaders and White House officials were reported to have heard nothing about the plan. Additionally, Congress is in recess ahead of mid-term election and there is no plan to return to Washington for the matter.
White House spokeswoman Lindsay Walters clarified yesterday that “as part of Tax Reform 2.0, the first elements of which were passed the House in September, the President would like to see an additional tax cut of 10% for middle-income families.” That effectively confirmed that the idea of 10% tax cut is something entirely new.
The three bills of the so called Tax Reform 2.0 was passed in the House in late September. And it’s already facing a tough batter in the Senate. It is seen as nearly impossible to add additional deficit ballooning 10% tax cut to the plan and get through either House or Senate. The claimed 10% tax cut for the middle class is seen as campaign gimmick rather than anything with substance.
The US markets shrugged off the news with DOW closing down -0.50% at 25317.41. Consolidation from 24899.77 is in progress but fall from 26951.81 medium term should resume sooner or later.
France PMI composite dropped to 39.9, businesses adapting well to new restrictions
France PMI Manufacturing dropped to 49.1 in November, down from October’s 51.3, missed expectation of 50.1. PMI Services dropped to 38.0, down from 46.5, matched expectations. PMI Composite dropped to 39.9, down from 47.5. All are 6-month lows.
Eliot Kerr, Economist at IHS Markit said: “With the renewed tightening of restrictions in France at the end of October, a sharp decline in private sector activity during November was almost inevitable. However, it is somewhat positive to see that the latest contraction in activity was substantially slower than during the previous lockdown. These results suggest that some French businesses have been able to adapt their operations to the new conditions and are subsequently less susceptible to sharp downturns in activity when tighter restrictions are imposed.
Full release here.