Republicans ram through their plan to overhaul US tax system but law may stall in the Senate

4-MIN READ4-MIN

House Speaker Paul Ryan of Wisconsin turns toward his colleagues during a news conference following a vote on tax reform on Capitol Hill in Washington. Republicans passed a near US$1.5 trillion package overhauling corporate and personal taxes through the House. Photo: AP

Published: 7:15am, 17 Nov 2017Updated: 7:26am, 17 Nov 2017

Republicans rammed a US$1.5 trillion overhaul of Americans’ business and personal income taxes through the US House of Representatives on Thursday, edging the nation toward its biggest rewrite in three decades and handing President Donald Trump and their party possibly their first major legislative triumph after 10 bumpy months of controlling government.

However, the mostly party-line 227-205 vote masked more ominous problems in the Senate. There, a similar package received a politically awkward verdict from non-partisan congressional analysts showing it would eventually produce higher taxes for low- and middle-income earners but deep reductions for those better off.

Those projections came a day after Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson became the first Republican senator to state opposition to the measure, saying it did not cut levies enough for millions of partnerships and corporations. With at least five other Republican senators yet to declare support, the bill’s fate is far from certain in a chamber the Republicans control by just 52-48.

US President Donald Trump speaks to members of the media after a Republican Party conference meeting on tax reform in Washington. Photo: Bloomberg

Even so, Republicans are hoping to send a compromise bill for Trump to sign by Christmas.

“Now is the time to deliver,” the White House said in a written statement that underscored the party’s effort to maintain momentum and outrace critics. Those include the AARP lobby for older people, major medical organisations, property agents – and, in all likelihood, all Senate Democrats.