Washington, September 30 (RHC)-- U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has announced his long-awaited tax plan.  The plan departs with his pledges over recent weeks that he would increase taxes for "hedge fund guys."  Instead, the proposal slashes taxes for the rich, eliminates the estate tax, and lowers the corporate tax rate from the current level of 35 percent to no more than 15 percent. 

The United States already has one of the lowest corporate tax levels among industrialized countries.  "The Donald" announced the plan in front of the Trump Tower skyscraper in Manhattan.  He said: "No business of any size, from a Fortune 500 company to a mom-and-pop shop to a freelancer living from gig to gig, will pay more than 15 percent of their business income in taxes." 

Trump’s plan would also reduce taxes for the middle class, while individuals earning less than $25,000 a year would not have to pay income taxes at all, instead simply receiving a one-page form to send the IRS that says: "I win." 

When asked during the press conference what he pays in taxes, Trump declined to answer, saying only: "I fight like hell to pay as little as possible."