BUDGET/GOP/TAXES: “A crucial Republican senator said he could accept a tax-policy framework that would let the GOP cut taxes by about $250 billion over the next decade and possibly hundreds of billions of dollars more, staking out a position that could help shape the party’s planned tax overhaul.
Sen. Bob Corker (R., Tenn.), a pivotal vote on the Senate Budget Committee, is framing the debate by defining his position on tax breaks that have already lapsed or are scheduled to expire in the coming years.
Republicans still have plenty of issues to hash out as part of their effort to overhaul the nation’s tax code, but the comments from Mr. Corker and other lawmakers show that they’re getting closer to reaching consensus on parts of the fiscal framework that is a prerequisite for a tax plan.
On Thursday [9-7-17], Mr. Corker said he was prepared to vote for a budget that assumed tax breaks for capital investment would be extended by Congress apart from any tax-law rewrite. If Republicans accept that position, it could let lawmakers extend that break or cut taxes elsewhere without offsetting the cost with tax increases. The impact: At least $248 billion over a decade.”
-Richard Rubin, “Corker, Senate GOP Shape Tax-Plan Outline,” The Wall Street Journal online, Sept. 8, 2017 03:05pm