Trump hails tax cut bill after approval from Senate

PRESIDENT Donald Trump hailed on Saturday the tax cut bill passed by the Senate overnight, the latest step toward what could be a major victory for his legislative agenda.

In an early Saturday Twitter post, Trump called his bill the biggest tax cut in US history and said his Republican Party would now work with the House of Representatives, which has passed its own tax bill, to produce a common version.

“Thank you to House and Senate Republicans for your hard work and commitment!” Trump wrote.

After a marathon session that stretched into the night, the chamber voted 51 to 49 in favour of the country’s largest tax overhaul in 31 years, overcoming internal Republican resistance and dismissing angry criticism from Democrats over last-minute revisions to the bill.

The Senate version and the one passed recently by the House must now be reconciled into a single bill, and approved again by both chambers, before it can be signed into law.

Both versions lower the corporate tax rate to 20 percent from 35 percent, and include more modest tax cuts aimed at individuals across all income levels.

The White House says the new package is aimed at spurring growth and producing higher wages and corporate profits while encouraging tax-shy companies to repatriate wealth.

One of the proposal’s main boosters, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, recently touted a letter from nine economists who asserted that the first comprehensive tax over- haul in three decades would lift annual GDP growth by 0.3 percent over 10 years.

But a University of Chicago study found that among 38 economists, the overwhelming majority doubt growth will increase and nearly all believed it would balloon the national debt.