House Ways And Means Chairman Kevin Brady said it will likely take congressional Republicans “several steps” to reach their goal of permanently lowering the corporate tax to 20 percent.
The Texas Republican told reporters Wednesday, just ahead of the release of the House GOP’s tax reform legislation, the party aims to make the reduction permanent, but it would take some maneuvering to comply with the upper chamber’s legislative hurdles.
“So, that’s our goal. And I think it’s going to take several steps in the end and through the process to achieve that,” he told reporters. “We have as you know in reconciliation those awfully funny Senate Byrd rule — so that will enter into the discussion.”
Republicans are expected to roll out the bill’s text Thursday, one day later than they initially planned. A divide remained within the conference over whether to eliminate state and local tax deductions. Critics — largely from high-tax states including New York and New Jersey — argue the change would lead to a dramatically increased tax burden on the middle class in the areas they represent. But top Republicans say they are working to ensure every American is positively impacted by their plans to overhaul the tax code.
“We want to make sure it’s right and arbitrary deadlines do not work — We saw that with health care,” GOP House Deputy Whip Patrick McHenry told reporters. “We’re not going to allow the idea of rolling out on a Wednesday rather than Thursday to determine something as substantive and important as tax reform.”
House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy said top tax writers, including Brady, have listed the concerns of their colleagues while crafting the legislation.
“They have made great progress and the things they came up with some great ideas and a way to deal with it,” he said. “And when you look at the overall bill people here are going to have a tax cut they’re going to like the growth of jobs that will be created.”
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