Trump tax triumph: American people still need convincing
WASHINGTON: A triumphant President Donald Trump and jubilant fellow Republicans celebrated the passage of their $1.5 trillion tax overhaul as a “historic victory for the American people.” The American people, however, will need some convincing.
As Trump and Republican lawmakers gathered at the White House to cheer their first major legislative achievement — and the biggest tax changes in a generation — some Republicans warned that the party could face a painful political backlash against an overhaul that offers corporations and wealthy taxpayers the biggest benefits and was projected to trigger the loss of health care coverage for millions of Americans.
“We are making America great again,” Trump declared, personally thanking his “little team” of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker Paul Ryan, before lawmakers lavished praise upon a president they have often openly criticized.
The president was expected to sign the bill at a later date for technical reasons.
In fact, the signing may be postponed until the start of the new calendar year in order to delay $120 billion in automatic cuts to popular programmes such as Medicare and spare Republicans from having to explain them in an election year.
The tax package provides a deep cut in the corporate rate, from 35% to 21%.
On the individual side, about 80% of American households will get tax cuts next year, while about 5% will pay more, according to the non-partisan Tax Policy Center.
People who make less than $25,000 will see an average tax cut of $60; those who earn between $49,000 and $86,000 will get about $900, and those in the top 1 percent of income — earning more than $733,000 — will receive around $51,000 in tax savings, the policy center said.
The cuts will come at a price: The Congressional Budget Office predicts the legislation will add $1.4 trillion to the national debt over the next decade.
Some of the president’s strongest allies conceded that voters may not immediately warm to the new law.