Trump Mulls New Tax Cut for the Wealthy

At this stage, it should maybe come as little surprise that the Trump administration is eyeing a bold move when it comes to taxes. Last year's tax cut -- which featured a drop in rates across the board and a massive tax cut for corporations -- was seemingly not enough, as the Trump administration is now considering bypassing Congress to change how capital gains taxes are calculated.

This move is still early stages and has not even been formally proposed yet. But early reporting indicates that under the executive action, investors would be able to adjust the cost basis for their asset/stock for inflation when calculating their capital gain.

For example, if you bought a stock for $10,000 in 1980, and it grew to $80,000 today, under current law if you sold it you would have to pay capital gains taxes on the $70,000 gain. With the proposed new executive action, you could adjust the $10,000 'cost basis' for inflation, which at an annualized 3% rate would mean adjusting your cost basis up to $30,000 or so. That would mean your capital gain is now $50,000 instead of $70,000, which could mean about $3,000 in tax savings.

If the Trump administration decided to move forward, it would be by executive action and not a law on Congress, which also means that the next president could overturn it with the stroke of a pen. Even still, many experts say that Trump taking such an action would be subject to lawsuits and challenges, as many would dispute the US Treasury's ability to change a rule without an act of Congress.