The International Monetary Fund spent decades telling the world's governments how to run their economies on an American-inspired blueprint that became known as the Washington Consensus.

But there wasn't much consensus between the IMF and the White House on Wednesday when an unusually public disagreement erupted over President Donald Trump's tax plans.

The flash point was a new IMF paper arguing that developed nations can share prosperity more evenly, without sacrificing growth, by shifting the income-tax burden onto the rich. "Excessive inequality can erode social cohesion, lead to political polarization, and ultimately lower economic growth," it said. The study came out as Trump was hitting the road to promote the biggest overhaul of America's tax code in decades. The Tax Policy Center, echoing most independent analysts, says that overhaul will benefit high earners most.