GOPer: Sure, some to pay more
SENATE MAJORITY LEADER Mitch McConnell predicted both houses of Congress will reach a deal to pass a final tax bill — but he said it would be “impossible” to offer a tax cut to every middleclass American.
“We’ll be able to get to an agreement in conference. I’m very optimistic about it,” McConnell said Sunday on ABC’s “This Week,” after the Senate passed its own version of the massive tax overhaul in the early hours of Saturday. “And we think this will make a big difference in getting our economy moving again and providing jobs and opportunity for the American people.”
The centerpiece of the tax package is a big tax cut for corporations, whose rate would be reduced from 35% to 20%.
It’s more of a tossup for individual Americans — a majority of whom would pay less in taxes, but millions of families would see their taxes go up, because a number of popular tax breaks are eliminated. The individual tax cuts — unlike the ones for corporations — would also expire in seven years unless Congress votes to extend them. Every Senate Democrat voted against the bill, which congressional analysis shows greatly benefits the rich while raising taxes over the next decade on those with yearly incomes of $10,000 to $75,000. “Friday was my single worst day as a U.S. senator,” Sen. Mark Warner, a Virginia Democrat, said on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “This was Swamp 101, the process on Friday night, where the bill was being hand-drafted. Lots of provisions were being included for special interests. “I will bet you we will see literally dozens more of these special provisions put in to help special interests.” The Senate and Speaker Paul Ryan’s Republican-led House are hoping to strike a deal and get a final tax bill passed by the end of the year. When asked why Republicans hadn’t crafted a bill that would give everyone in the middle class a permanent tax cut, McConnell said on