Seth Meyers has a tax tip for Trump: 'Claim your defendants as dependents'

President Trump has been touting the GOP tax plan as a wonderful thing for the middle class, but in reality, Seth Meyers said on Thursday's Late Night, it will benefit the ultra wealthy — like Trump.

"The only thing that would be more beneficial to Donald Trump is a tax break that lets you claim your defendants as dependents," Meyers said. Trying to pass tax reform is a last-ditch effort for Republicans to get something done before the year is over, he said, and it shouldn't be that difficult for a group that has crowed about fixing the tax system for years and years. "Tax cuts are to the Republican Party what 'Piano Man' is to Billy Joel," Meyers said. "Whenever they think they're losing the crowd and people are heading for the exits, they can break that one out and everybody's gonna sing along."

Meyers went into some detail on how the House Republicans' plan would affect the middle class — decreasing the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 20 percent results in a $1 trillion loss of revenue, and to make that up, important deductions that help residents in states like California and New Jersey, like the state and local tax deduction, would be eliminated. What's not touched? A tax break for golf club owners, which would directly benefit Trump. Watch the video below for more on the tax plan, and for Meyers' oddly accurate impression of Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross. Catherine Garcia

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.