WHEN: Tuesday, June 20th
WHERE: CNBC's "Squawk Box"
Following are excerpts from the unofficial transcript of a FIRST ON CNBC interview with U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on CNBC's "Squawk Box" (M-F, 6AM-9AM ET) Tuesday, June 20th. Following are links to the video on CNBC.com: http://video.cnbc.com/gallery/?video=3000629049&play=1, http://video.cnbc.com/gallery/?video=3000629050&play=1, http://video.cnbc.com/gallery/?video=3000629051&play=1, http://video.cnbc.com/gallery/?video=3000629053&play=1 and http://video.cnbc.com/gallery/?video=3000629054&play=1.
All references must be sourced to CNBC.
MNUCHIN ON RATES
THE FOCUS IS LOWER RATES. BUT I WOULD SAY WHAT COMES WITH THAT IS REFORM WHICH IS BROADENING THE BASE, MAKING SURE THAT WE TAKE OUT LOTS OF SPECIAL INTEREST DEDUCTIONS AND SIMPLIFYING THE TAX CODE. AND I'D SAY ON THE BUSINESS SIDE, THE BIGGEST CHANGE WE'VE TALKED ABOUT IS THE NEED TO MOVE TO A TERRITORIAL SYSTEM. IT MAKES NO SENSE, WE HAVE ONE OF THE HIGHEST TAX RATES. WE TAX ON WORLDWIDE INCOME, WE HAVE A CONCEPT OF DEFERRAL. WE WANT TO MAKE SURE COMPANIES BRING BACK THAT MONEY ONSHORE TO REINVEST IN AMERICAN EQUIPMENT AND AMERICAN JOBS.
MNUCHIN ON TECH LEADERS MEETING
JEFF BEZOS WAS AT THE TECH COUNCIL YESTERDAY. WE APPRECIATE HIS INVOLVEMENT. HE HAS A LOT OF REALLY GOOD IDEAS FOR THE ADMINISTRATION AND YOU KNOW WE HAD AN AMAZING DAY YESTERDAY WITH TECH LEADERS SHOWING US AND HELPING US HOW WE CAN MOVE GOVERNMENT INTO THE NEXT CENTURY WHETHER ITS CYBERSECURITY, WHETHER ITS UPDATING OUR AGED INFRASTRUCTURE, WE'VE UNDERINVESTED IN TECHNOLOGY FOR TOO LONG. WE HAVE TOO MUCH DUPLICATION. THERE'S A LOT OF MONEY WE CAN SAVE FOR TAXPAYERS.
MNUCHIN ON FIXING THE SYSTEM
THE SPEAKER, MYSELF, THE SENATE LEADERSHIP, WE ARE ALL 100% COMMITTED TO GETTING IT DONE THIS YEAR. IT'S CRITICAL TO THE ECONOMY. WE HAVE A UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY TO DO THIS. IT'S BEEN 30 YEARS WE HAVE TO FIX THE SYSTEM AND OUR TEAMS ARE MEETING DAILY. WE ARE MEETING WEEKLY. AND WE COULDN'T BE MORE FOCUSED ON GETTING THIS DONE.
MNUCHIN ON TAX REFORM
ITS MASSIVE TAX REFORM THAT COMES ALONG WITH TAX CUTS. AND THIS IS MY NUMBER ONE FOCUS. IT'S CRITICAL TO ECONOMIC GROWTH. AS I'VE TALKED ABOUT CONTINUOUSLY, OUR ECONOMIC PLAN IS A COMBINATION OF TAX REFORM, REGULATORY RELIEF, AND TRADE. LAST WEEK WE WERE PLEASED TO DELIVER OUR REPORT ON REGULATORY REFORM AND WE'RE MOVING FORWARD VERY QUICKLY ON TAX REFORM AND EXPECT TO GET IT DONE THIS YEAR.
MNUCHIN ON U.S. DEBT
I'VE URGED CONGRESS TO ACT BEFORE THEY LEAVE. I THINK IT'S CRITICAL THAT WE SEND A MESSAGE TO THE WORLD THAT THE U.S. DEBT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF OUR CREDIT AND THAT WE'RE FOCUSED ON IT AND I'D ENCOURAGE THEM TO ACT QUICKLY. BUT IF THEY DON'T, WE HAVE PLANS TO FUND THE GOVERNMENT AND THAT SHOULDN'T CREATE CONCERNS THROUGH SEPTEMBER.
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