WASHINGTON (AP) – A massive Republican tax package swiftly taking shape would pull down the top tax rate for wealthy Americans to 37 percent and slash the tax rate for corporations to a level slightly above what businesses and conservatives wanted.
Republicans in Congress rushed Tuesday toward a deal. Lawmakers and aides labored at a fevered pace to blend separate tax bills that were passed recently by the House and Senate. The Republican goal is to deliver to President Donald Trump the first major rewrite of the U.S. tax system in more than three decades.
GOP lawmakers hope to finalize blended legislation no later than Friday, vote next week and deliver the package of steep tax cuts for corporations and more modest cuts for families to the president before Christmas.
Trump was making a pitch Wednesday for the tax plan, which is unpopular with many. He will offer what aides called a “closing argument to the American people.” Trump planned to deliver the speech from the Grand Foyer, the entrance of the White House mansion, laying out how the tax changes would specifically benefit the middle-class families in attendance from Pennsylvania, Ohio, Virginia, Iowa and Washington state.
Trump was to note how the tax plan would save the families money, place them in lower tax brackets and help them pay for their children’s education, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity ahead of the speech.