Congress wraps up massive tax package
Congressional Republicans delivered an epic overhaul of U.S. tax laws to President Donald Trump on Wednesday, bringing generous tax cuts for corporations and the wealthiest Americans while providing smaller cuts for middleand low-income families.
In a re-vote due to a lastminute hiccup, the House passed the massive US$1.5 trillion tax package that affects everyone’s taxes but is dominated by breaks for business and higher earners. Democrats call the legislation a boon to the rich that leaves middle-class and working Americans behind.
The vote was 224-201 and came hours after the Senate’s early morning passage along party lines. It is the first major overhaul of the nation’s tax laws since 1986.
On Twitter and in White House remarks, Trump hailed the outcome, his own efforts and the work of GOP allies, including Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, who had drawn the president’s wrath for the Senate’s inability this past summer to dismantle the health care law.
“Our team will go onto many more VICTORIES!” Trump tweeted.
Congressional Republicans have cast the bill as a blessing for the middle class, an argument they will stress in their drive to hold onto their congressional majorities in next year’s midterm elections. But one comment by Trump could complicate their messaging.
In praising the bill, Trump cited the deep cut in the corporate tax rate, from 35 per cent to 21 per cent.
“That’s probably the biggest factor in our plan,” the president said at the White House.
Within minutes, during House debate at the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue, Rep. Richard Neal, D-Mass., jumped on Trump’s remarks, calling it proof that Republicans were never interested in passing meaningful tax cuts for the middle class.
The Senate used a post-midnight vote Wednesday morning to approve the measure on a party-line 51-48 tally.
Starting next year, families making between $50,000 and $75,000 will get average tax cuts of $890, according to an analysis by the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center.