STEVE MNUCHIN/TAXES/TREASURY: “Steven Mnuchin is facing the biggest test of his short political career.
The Treasury secretary has been working for months to bridge divides between an impulsive president and a fractious Congress to deliver on the Republican Party’s promise of a simpler tax code with lower rates.
He has a powerful tailwind. Both Donald Trump and Republican lawmakers have promised a tax overhaul, which now remains one of their biggest domestic policy priorities since their efforts to repeal or overhaul the Affordable Care Act have so far fallen flat.
Stacked against Mr. Mnuchin, as negotiations near the make-or-break stage, are unresolved intraparty disagreements over how much lost tax revenue is acceptable and how tax cuts should be apportioned among companies, high-income earners and the middle class. Lobbyists stand ready to resist almost any proposed changes…
A sweeping tax-code rewrite hasn’t happened since 1986, because tax overhauls are complex and touch almost every aspect of the economy. For this year’s attempt, Congress must first agree on a fiscal 2018 budget, the vehicle through which tax changes could be passed on a party-line vote without Democratic support. Both houses are moving forward on the budget, most recently with a deal in a Senate panel that would permit tax cuts of up to $1.5 trillion over a decade.”
-Richard Rubin and Kate Davidson, “Steven Mnuchin, a Newcomer, Tilts at Washington’s Hardest Target: The Tax Code,” The Wall Street Journal online, Sept. 25, 2017 10:42am