‘This is happening’: GOP revels in all-but-certain tax deal
WASHINGTON — Republicans working to execute their first major legislative achievement of Donald Trump’s presidency appear to have secured the votes to pass a massive tax overhaul that Trump hoped to present to the American people for Christmas.
“This is happening. Tax reform under Republican control of Washington is happening,” House Speaker Paul Ryan of Wisconsin told rank-and-file members in a conference call Friday. “Most critics out there didn’t think it could happen. … And now we’re on the doorstep of something truly historic.”
It’s the widest-ranging reshaping of the tax code in three decades and is expected to add to the nation’s $20 trillion debt. The tax cuts are projected to add $1.46 trillion over a decade. The GOP plans to muscle it through Congress next week before its year-end break.
Under the bill, today’s 35 per cent rate on corporations would fall to 21 per cent, the crown jewel of the measure for many Republicans. Trump and GOP leaders had set 20 per cent as their goal but added a point to free money for other tax cuts that won over wavering lawmakers in final talks.