Trump made the pitch in 1999 when he was considering a run. We tried to contact The Donald this morning for comment and our call has not been returned.
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NEW YORK CNN -- Billionaire businessman Donald Trump has a plan to pay off the national debt, grant a middle class a tax cut, and keep Social Security afloat tax rich people like himself. Trump, a prospective candidate for the Reform Party presidential nomination, is proposing a onetime net worth tax on individuals and trusts worth 10 million or more.
By Trump's calculations, his proposed 14.25 percent levy on such net worth would raise 5.7 trillion and wipe out the debt in one full swoop.
No one has put forward a plan to make this country entirely debt free as we enter the next millennium, Trump said in a written statement.
The plan I am proposing today does not involve smoke and mirrors, phony numbers, financial gimmicks, or the usual economic chicanery you usually find in DisneylandonthePotomac, Trump said.
By my calculations, 1 percent of Americans, who control 90 percent of the wealth in this country, would be affected by my plan, Trump said.
The other 99 percent of the people would get deep reductions in their federal income taxes, he said.
Eliminating the national debt would save the federal government 200 billion a year in interest payments, Trump said. He proposes to earmark half the savings for middle class tax cuts, and the other half for Social Security.