The White House will not have its comprehensive tax reform package ready by August's congressional recess, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin conceded in an interview with The Financial Times. About that original timeline, which Mnuchin had reiterated during an Axios event just weeks ago:
[It's] highly aggressive to not realistic at this point.
What happened? Mnuchin added that the delay was caused by the failure of healthcare reform, which the White House had hoped could help offset proposed tax cuts. He also continued to express skepticism over the so-called border adjustment tax ― without taking it completely off the table ― arguing that up to $1 trillion in extra revenue could be found elsewhere, including via rosier economic growth expectations. Mnuchin still believes that tax reform will be signed into law at some point in 2017.