President Trump and Rep. Kevin Brady said Wednesday that they intend to pursue an additional 10 percent tax cut for the middle class once the new Congress convenes in January.
Mr. Trump had said earlier this month that he’d like to push for the additional tax cut in the coming weeks, and that he wanted Congress to vote on it after the midterm elections.
But on Wednesday, the two leaders signaled the additional 10 percent cut won’t be in the cards for the post-election “lame duck” session of Congress.
“We are committed to delivering an additional 10 percent tax cut to middle-class workers across the country. And we intend to take swift action on this legislation at the start of the 116th Congress,” said Mr. Trump and Mr. Brady, the House’s top tax-writer.
The president and Mr. Brady also credited last year’s $1.5 trillion tax-cut package for juicing the U.S. economy, and pointed out that no Democrats voted for the legislation.
“Together, the Trump administration and congressional Republicans are creating more economic opportunity for workers of all walks of life — especially for those hit hardest by the recession, who the previous administration left behind,” they said.
The House also passed legislation recently that would make permanent the individual tax rate cuts in the law. The new law permanently lowered the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 21 percent, but the individual rate cuts were written to expire after 2025 to comply with budget rules.
Congressional Democrats have criticized the law as a giveaway to the rich, and have said they could seek to roll back parts of it if they retake control of at least one chamber of Congress.
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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