Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas and Bernie Sanders of Vermont will participate in a CNN town hall debate October 18 to discuss President Donald Trump’s push to overhaul the nation’s tax code.
CNN’s Jake Tapper, anchor and chief Washington correspondent, and Dana Bash, CNN’s chief political correspondent, will moderate the debate, which takes place in Washington at 9 p.m. ET.
Cruz and Sanders will argue the best way to approach the issue, as well as take questions from voters, according to a release.
Trump has called for reducing the personal income tax brackets from seven to three, doubling the standard deduction for married and single filers, reducing the corporate tax rate and eliminating the estate tax.
Sanders, an independent who was the runner-up for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2016, has been openly critical of Trump’s tax plan.
“For Trump to go on television and say, ‘Oh, this doesn’t benefit the wealthy,’ is absolutely outrageous,” Sanders said earlier this month on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “Of course it benefits the wealthy, and of course it benefits large, multinational corporations.”
Meanwhile, Cruz, who was a candidate for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016, told Bash in September that he wanted to see a simplified tax plan that included immediate expensing.
“We spend about nine billion hours a year wasting time with the IRS,” he said. “The world would be much, much simpler if you and I and everyone else just filled out a postcard.”
The debate will air on CNN, CNN en Español, CNN International, and will be carried by CNN’s SiriusXM Channel 116 and the Westwood One Radio Network.
In addition to the TV airings, the debate will also stream live for subscribers via CNNgo (at CNN.com/go and via CNNgo apps for Apple TV, Roku, Amazon Fire, Samsung Smart TV and Android TV) and on the CNN mobile apps for iOS and Android. The debate will also be available on October 19 via on demand via cable/satellite systems, CNNgo platforms and CNN mobile apps.