GOP/TAXES: “Senate Republicans reached a deal Tuesday [9-18-17] that would allow tax cuts over the next decade, bridging party divides over trade-offs between tax cuts and budget deficits and taking an important step toward tax-overhaul legislation…
Mr. Toomey had been seeking tax cuts that might reduce revenues by as much as $2 trillion over a decade. Mr. Corker, more wary of budget deficits, had been arguing for a smaller number. The number could be up to $1.5 trillion in revenue-reducing tax cuts, but neither senator would confirm the figure in advance of a formal announcement.
Mr. Corker said he was willing to let the budget move ahead to get the tax bill started. He said he would judge the eventual tax plan by how much it encouraged economic growth and avoided increasing budget deficits…
Democrats accused Republicans of abandoning their claims of fiscal probity in a country with $20 trillion in debt, about $10 trillion in projected additional deficits over the next decade and the prospect, eventually, of rising interest rates…
The Republicans are eager to cut tax rates and rewrite the tax system before the 2018 midterm elections. If the House and Senate adopt the same fiscal 2018 budget, Republicans can use the fast-track process known as reconciliation to write and pass a tax bill with a simple majority—instead of a 60-vote threshold that would require Democratic support.
The Toomey-Corker agreement would allow Republicans to lower tax rates while making fewer tough decisions on what tax breaks to eliminate to help pay for the cuts.”
-Siobhan Hughes and Richard Rubin, “Senate Republicans Reach a Deal on Budget,” The Wall Street Journal online, Sept. 19, 2017 07:00pm