POLITICS/TAXES: “The U.S. Senate’s top Republican tax law writer warned on Thursday [9-14-17] that the ‘Big Six’ negotiators from the White House, Senate and House of Representatives would not dictate to his committee the direction of expected tax reform legislation.
In a defiant statement coming as Republican leaders from the Trump administration and Congress prepare to unveil their tax reform framework, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch said his panel would not be ‘anyone’s rubber stamp’ and that its legislation would reflect the consensus views of its members…
Overhauling the U.S. tax code is a top priority of President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans, but they have made little progress since taking power in Washington in January via a closed-door process that has excluded Democrats.
The ‘Big Six’ were at the center of this process. Hatch is a member of the select group, along with other Republican tax law writers from Congress and Trump’s top economic advisers. Even after months of talks, basic questions of the Republican tax plan remain unanswered, such as whether or not the tax cuts they want will expand the U.S. budget deficit.”
-David Morgan, “Top Senate Republican on taxes says ‘Big Six’ won’t dictate reform,” Reuters, Sept. 14, 2017 07:21am