Final Republican tax bill revealed on Friday

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US Congressional Republicans on Friday unveiled the final version of their dramatic US tax overhaul – debt-financed cuts for businesses, the wealthy and some middle-class Americans – and picked up crucial support from two wavering senators ahead of planned votes by lawmakers early next week.

The plan brings the US corporate tax rate down to 21 percent from the current 35 percent.

The top individual income tax drops to 37 percent from 39.6 percent.

Passage of the biggest US tax rewrite since 1986 would provide Republican lawmakers and President Donald Trump their first major legislative victory since he took office in January.

Prospects for approval soared after Republican senators Marco Rubio and Bob Corker pledged support.

House and Senate Republicans are planning to pass a tax cut package next week.

Before the joint tax cut bill was revealed, US stocks ended higher on Friday, with all three major indices closing at record highs.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 143.08 points, or 0.58 percent, to 24,651.74. The S&P 500 added 23.80 points, or 0.90 percent, to 2,675.81. The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 80.06 points, or 1.17 percent, to 6,936.58.

Also on Friday, Michael Bloomberg, the former New York City mayor and business tycoon, criticized the Republican tax cut bill in a column, calling it "an economically indefensible blunder that will harm our future."

He said in an op-ed, "it's pure fantasy to think that the tax bill will lead to significantly higher wages and growth, as Republicans have promised."

Bloomberg, the eighth richest person in the US and tenth richest person in the world, according to Forbes Magazine, said CEOs "don't need the money."

"Corporations are sitting on a record amount of cash reserves: nearly 2.3 trillion. That figure has been climbing steadily since the recession ended in 2009, and it's now double what it was in 2001," Bloomberg said.

Source(s): Reuters ,Xinhua News Agency