Delivery pending on tax bill package
Congress plans to vote today
WASHINGTON — Republicans are poised to pass the first revamp of the tax code in decades — and hand President Trump his first major legislative win — as soon as tonight as the measure gained enough GOP support in the Senate to pass by Christmas break.
Sens. Susan Collins (RMaine) and Mike Lee (RUtah) yesterday put the GOP Senate whip count at 50, enough to pass the measure with the tiebreaking vote of Vice President Mike Pence. All 48 Democrats are expected to vote against the bill. GOP Sen. Jeff Flake remained undecided last night, and fellow Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain, who has a viral infection related to his cancer treatments, returned to Arizona.
Collins, who had been a potential holdout, yesterday said the bill will give “tax relief to working families, encourage the creation of jobs right here in America and spur economic growth that will benefit all Americans.”
But over the weekend a provision allowing a deduction for real estate held, though limited liability corporations sparked a firestorm after an International Business Times report that the measure was added to garner the support of Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.). The report, which stated that the measure would save Corker as much as $1.2 million, sparked outrage and the viral Twitter hashtag #Corkerkickback.
Corker yesterday denied knowing about the provision before announcing his support, and Senate Finance Committee chairman Sen. Orrin Hatch (RUtah) claimed authorship of the measure, which had been in the House bill and publicly available for more than a month.
In a letter, Hatch said he was “disgusted” at the suggestion the provision was pushed by Corker or a “covert and last-minute addition to the conference report.”
According to the Tax Policy Center at the Urban Institute and Brookings Center, on average, income earners in all income groups will see a tax cut from 2018 to 2025, but the highest share of tax cuts will go to earners in the top 95th to 99th percentiles of income distribution. In 10 years, 53 percent of taxpayers would pay more when the individual cuts expire, the report stated.
The Congressional Budget Office estimates that the bill’s repeal of the individual mandate would leave 13 million fewer Americans insured and raise premiums by 10 percent. The measure also would trigger automatic cuts to Medicaid and other key benefits to federal workers.