GOP/TAXES: “Senate Republicans unveiled a proposal to overhaul the U.S. tax code Thursday [11-9-17] that breaks in significant ways with a comparable House tax plan, including the level of top individual tax rates, the number of individual tax brackets, the timing of a corporate tax-rate cut and the particulars of estate tax changes.
The Senate bill, according to Senate Finance Committee aides, would delay a corporate tax rate cut until 2019. It would also double the estate tax exemption to a maximum of about $11 million per person, but it would leave the 40% tax itself in place for estates above that exemption level.
The House bill, by contrast, would cut the corporate tax rate to 20% immediately and repeal the estate tax starting in 2024. The Senate bill also sets a 38.5% top tax rate for individuals and preserves a seven-bracket structure; the top rate starts at $1 million for married couples and $500,000 for individuals, said Sen. John Hoeven (R., N.D.). The House has a 39.6% top rate and a four-bracket structure.
The contrasts in the competing bills point to the challenge the GOP faces advancing the overhaul through Congress, which they aim to do by year-end. After winning passage in both chambers with narrow party majorities, Senate and House Republican leaders then will need to reconcile differences with each other to come up with a bill to send to President Donald Trump.”
-Richard Rubin, “Senate Tax Plan Differs From House on Individual Rates, Timing of Corporate Rate Cut,” The Wall Street Journal online, Nov. 9, 2017 04:30pm