Ryan says tax overhaul long overdue
NEW ALBANY, Ohio — Noting he had just gotten his driver’s license the last time Congress overhauled the nation’s tax system, House Speaker Paul Ryan on Wednesday insisted lawmakers will act soon even as he deals with deep divisions in his own Republican Party.
During a roundtable discussion Wednesday at a central Ohio contract packaging plant, Ryan focused on reducing the number of tax brackets to three, eliminating tax breaks and simplifying the code to cut rates for individuals.
“In every generation you have an opportunity,” Ryan, 47, said. “The last time we did this — this being, reform our tax system — was the year I got my driver’s license: 1986. We have not done this in a long, long time and it’s high time in coming.”
President Donald Trump has proposed reducing the top corporate tax rate by 20 percentage points and allowing private business owners to claim the new lower rate for their take-home pay. It would whittle the number of tax brackets for individuals from seven to three, lower the top tax rate from 39.6 per cent to 35 per cent and double the standard amount taxpayers could deduct.