Mnuchin Says Trump Is Focused On Boosting Travel Industry With Tax Breaks And Stimulus

The 2017 Republican tax reform package did away with a provision that let corporations deduct certain entertainment costs from their tax bills each year; it also limited the meal expenses that could be deducted. 

In April, President Trump floated the idea of reinstating full deductibility for restaurant expenses (right now, companies can deduct 50% of the cost of business meals) as a way to encourage spending in industries that have been hit hardest by the virus.

“I think the president is very sympathetic to the restaurant industry,” Mnuchin said in a Mornings With Maria interview on Fox Business. “He’s focusing on getting tax changes so that [restaurant expenses] will be fully tax deductible, like it used to be.”

Similar to restaurants, Mnuchin said that President Trump is focused on ways to stimulate the travel industry, though he did not specify what this would entail.

Mnuchin also said that it’s “too hard to tell” whether international travel be permitted for non-business purposes until 2021. 

He emphasized that people should travel domestically as an alternative to international travel, “Obviously, for business people that do need to travel, there will be [international] travel on a limited basis. But this is a great time for people to explore America.”