ELECTION LOSSES won’t derail tax plan, Hill says.
WASHINGTON — Republicans’ Election Day losses haven’t derailed the party’s efforts to overhaul the nation’s tax system, U.S. Rep. French Hill said Wednesday morning.
The Little Rock Republican predicted that the House will move forward with its package of tax cuts, despite Tuesday’s vote returns.
“I don’t know that there’s an impact on tax reform per se,” he said.
“New Jersey, the city of New York and Virginia, I don’t think are Republican bastions so I was not surprised by Democrats winning in those jurisdictions,” he said. “I don’t really walk away from last night with a lesson learned.”
Hill made his comments during a panel discussion, hosted by the Washington
Examiner, titled “Breaking Down the
Tax Reform
Bill.” He was joined by Job Creators Network President Alfredo
Ortiz and Americans for
Tax Reform President Grover Norquist.
House Republicans released their 400-page rewrite of the tax code a week ago. Among other things, it would lower the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 20 percent, reduce the number of income tax brackets from seven to four, nearly double standard deductions and expand child tax credits.
The bill would also eliminate or pare some other tax breaks, such as capping interest deductions on new home mortgages and limiting the amount of property taxes that can be deducted from itemized returns.
The Congressional Budget Office on Wednesday said the package, if approved, would increase the national debt by $1.7 trillion total between 2018 and 2027.
The budget deficit for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30 was $666 billion; the national debt now exceeds $20 trillion.
Hill, a former banker who represents the 2nd Congressional District, said support for tax cuts is widespread on Capitol Hill.
“We have a good working majority of people in this Congress that know that tax reform is overdue, past due and needs to get done. They wear both colored hats, blue and red, and they know the importance of getting this done,” he said.
Norquist, an anti-tax activist for decades, gets political candidates to pledge — in writing — that they will “oppose any and all efforts to increase the marginal income tax rates for individuals and/or businesses” and to “oppose any net reduction or elimination of deductions and credits, unless matched dollar for dollar by further reducing tax rates.”
President Donald Trump made tax relief a cornerstone of his successful 2016 campaign.
“I think it’s very important to get it done now and this year,” Norquist said, with the midterm elections less than a year away.
The nation’s “stupid tax code” is sabotaging the American economy and stifling economic growth, he said.
“This is not the Chinese being sneaky or something. Our tax laws do this to our workers and our businesses and it can be stopped,” he said.
It’s acceptable if some of the provisions are initially supposed to sunset; once a tax break is established, Democrats are loath to let it expire, he said.
“They’ll never give you the tax cut, but they don’t have the guts to take it away,” Norquist added.
House Republicans aren’t the only ones crafting tax legislation. Senate Republicans are expected to release their own version sometime today.
Hill expects it to bear at least some resemblance to the House version.
“Our Senate leadership, the Trump Treasury [Department] and the House leadership have agreed to this blueprint that is reflected in the House plan, and I expect the Senate to operate within the confines of that blueprint,” he said.
While anticipating that there’ll be some changes, the basic parameters have been established, he said.
“We expect them to color within the lines of the blueprint. If they don’t, there’ll be grumpiness,” he added.
Hill, a former banker who represents the 2nd Congressional District, said support for tax cuts is widespread on Capitol Hill.