US Treasury chief says planned tax cuts will not benefit wealthy

WASHINGTON, Oct 1 (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Sunday dismissed suggestions that the Trump administration's proposed tax cuts would benefit wealthy Americans at the expense of middle-income people.

"Not the case that tax cuts will benefit the wealthy. Changes in the top bracket are offset with the elimination of almost every single type of deduction," Mnuchin said on ABC's "This Week" program.

A report on Friday from the non-profit Washington-based Tax Policy Center found that taxpayers in the top 1 percent income bracket - above $730,000 - would receive about 50 percent of the total tax benefit from the overhaul, with their after-tax income forecast to increase an average of 8.5 percent. (Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Paul Simao)