WHAT A CORKER
GOP THINKS THEY HAVE TAX VOTES —
THE GOP tax bill is finished — and looks like a done deal.
Republicans appeared poised Friday to deliver on their longstanding promise to remake the nation’s tax code, winning over two reluctant senators in a burst of last-minute deal-making.
The backing of Sens. Marco Rubio of Florida and Bob Corker of Tennessee likely clears the way for the $1.5 trillion bill derided by Democrats as a giveaway to corporations and the ultra-wealthy.
The 1,097-page bill made public early Friday evening would slash tax rates for big business and the wealthiest Americans while providing more modest reductions for the middle-class and poor.
Lawmakers plan to vote on the bill next week in the hope of giving President Trump his first major legislative victory in time for Christmas.
“This is happening. Tax reform under Republican control of Washington is happening,” House Speaker Paul Ryan of Wisconsin told members in a conference call.
“Most critics out there didn’t think it could happen . . . . And now we’re on the doorstep of something truly historic.”
The White House said Trump “looks forward to fulfilling the promise he made to the American people to give them a tax cut by the end of the year.”
Democrats reacted swiftly in condemning what will be the most significant change to the tax code in three generations.
“Under this bill, the working class, middle class and upper middle class get skewered while the rich and wealthy corporations make out like bandits,” said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York. “It is just the opposite of what America needs, and Republicans will rue the day they pass this.”
“At 5:30 on a Friday evening, Republicans handed a nice little holiday present to their corporate donors,” tweeted Sen. Kirsten Gilibrand of New York. “See for yourself, this bill is a disaster.”
The centerpiece of the bill is a massive tax cut for corporations, slashing the rate from 35% to 21%.
The legislation drops the top rate for the highest earners to 37% from 39.6% — and nearly doubles the standard deduction used by roughly two-thirds of households.
But in a move seen as a brutal change for high-tax states like New York, the bill would cap at $10,000 the deduction that millions use in connection with state
and local income, property and sales taxes.
Commuters are also among the biggest losers of the bill, which eliminates the tax incentive for private employers that subsidize their employees’ transit, parking and bicycle commuting expenses.
The existing policy allowed companies to provide parking or transit passes worth up to $255 a month — set to increase to $260 in January — to employees as a benefit to help pay for their commuting expenses. Businesses could then deduct the costs from their corporate taxes.
The bill would repeal a signature part of Obamacare — the requirement that all Americans have health insurance or face a penalty.
The rollout of the final bill capped a day of high-drama on Capitol Hill as Republicans engaged in a feverish round of horse-trading to win over the reluctant senators.
A staunch fiscal hawk, Corker was the emerging legislation’s most vocal GOP critic over concerns of its impact on the nation’s ballooning debt. He’d said he couldn’t vote for it because of what it would mean for future generations.
His sudden about-face sent shock waves through Washington — he’d been the only Republican to say he couldn’t back the bill.
“This bill is far from perfect,” Corker said in a statement.
“But after great thought and consideration, I believe that this once-in-ageneration opportunity to make U.S. businesses domestically more productive and internationally more competitive is one we should not miss.” Rubio had said he would not support the legislation unless it offered a more generous child tax credit for low-income families. The tax package called for a doubling of the basic per-child tax credit from $1,000 to $2,000, but the bill makes a smaller amount available to families even if they owe no federal income tax. The former GOP presidential candidate’s concerns were appeased when Republican lawmakers agreed to increase the amount such families can claim to $1,400 from the $1,100 listed in the Senate’s version of the bill. Members of a House-Senate conference committee signed the final version of the legislation Friday after spending several days working to blend the different versions passed by the two houses.
With Republicans holding a slim 52-48 majority in the Senate, they are counting on Sens. John McCain of Arizona and Thad Cochran to return to the Senate to vote for the bill next week. Both missed votes this week due to health issues.
The bill drew howls of criticism from Democrats and independents.
In an op-ed published Friday, former Mayor Michael Bloomberg blasted the bill as “an economically indefensible blunder that will harm our future.”
I realize this is a bet on our country’s enterprising spirit, and that is a bet I am willing to make. SEN. BOB CORKER