House GOP leaders delay tax plan release

WASHINGTON — House Republicans, straining to make last-minute changes to their far-reaching tax proposal, on Tuesday delayed the rollout by a day after they failed to finalize the details.

The plan pushed by President Donald Trump and Republican leaders in Congress is a top legislative priority. The details originally were to be unveiled today, but that was delayed until Thursday, a senior GOP aide said Tuesday night. The aide spoke on condition of anonymity because the individual wasn’t allowed to publicly discuss the schedule.

The tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee had worked throughout the day and evening to produce a plan for the first overhaul of the nation’s tax code in three decades.

“We are making excellent progress. We are very close,” said Rep. Kevin Brady, R-Texas, chairman of the committee, said late Tuesday night. “A lot of work remains with the drafters, they are continuing to work through the night. We are moving forward.”

He made no concession to the uncertainty about the rollout or the difficulty of unveiling a bill today, suggesting that the ambitious schedule was on track, saying, “No announcement of change in the schedule.”

Although they had settled on some key details — such as a cut in the corporate tax rate to 20 percent and maintaining the top personal income tax rate for the wealthy of 39.6 percent — other elements still had to be resolved, including the income levels for the tax brackets.