— This is the script of CNBC's news report for China's CCTV on September 14, Thursday.
September 25th – a highly anticipated day where Trump will release a concrete tax reform plan. At the same time, Brady also expressed that right after the release of the concrete tax plan, the Senate will plan out a budget by mid-October as it is crucial in determining the eventual tax bill.
In this regard, the US Treasury Secretary Mnuchin told CNBC that there is no need to worry about debt ceiling till 2018. This is because following Trump's administration expected economy growth; the tax reform should not increase the budget deficit, allowing fiscal revenue to remain neutral. Mnuchin also said that the current implementation of the tax reform is more important than ever before and that the Trump administration still hopes that the tax reform will come through by this year.
[STEVEN MNUCHIN | U.S. TREASURY SECRETARY] "IN JANUARY, WE HAD A PLAN THAT WAS LINED OUT, WORKING WITH CONGRESS, THAT WE THOUGHT WE COULD GET TAX REFORM DONE BY AUGUST. AND THAT WAS BASED UPON DOING HEALTH CARE FIRST AND DOING HEALTH CARE FAST I THINK, AS YOU KNOW, HEALTH CARE TOOK LONGER THAN WE EXPECTED WE THEN GOT INTO THE AUGUST RECESS THATS WHAT PUSHED BACK TAX REFORM SO, THE MARKET MOVED IM NOW INCREDIBLY HOPEFUL WERE GOING TO GET THIS DONE BY THE END OF THE YEAR."
Some observers are not too optimistic about the tax reforms happening by the end of this year when they take into account the complex procedures for changing tax laws and the different interests of legislators. But some believe that Trump will push for the two parties to cooperate in order for the House of Representatives to reach an agreement. This trend is reflected in the overnight markets.
Overnight, the three major US stock indices closed slightly upwards. Among them, the DJIA rose nearly 40 points, while, S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite closed at a record high. This is the second consecutive day that these three indices hit a new high.
Also, the dollar index showed a strong rebound, while gold, which is priced in dollar terms, fell.
Therefore, everyone is looking forward to details of the tax plan on the 25th. Trump has reiterated for a long time that he hopes that the corporate tax will go down from 35% to 15%. But, Mnuchin, in an interview with CNBC, said that the outlook for corporate tax remains uncertain and that it may be difficult to go from 35% to 15% but 15% remains as the current goal.
[STEVEN MNUCHIN | U.S. TREASURY SECRETARY] "The president has made it very clear since the campaign ideally he like to get it down to 15%. I don't know if we will be able to achieve that given the budget issues, but we are going to get this down to a very competitive level."
We will continue to keep watch on the details of the plan when they are announced.
CNBC's Qian reporting from Singapore.