Business
08:11, 21-Dec-2017
House gives final approval to tax bill, delivering victory to Trump
["north america"]
Share
Copied
President Donald Trump has insisted that the biggest overhaul of the US tax code in 30 years, which was given final approval on Wednesday, will give a big jobs boost to the economy.
The Republican-controlled House of Representatives sent the sweeping $1.5 trillion tax bill to Trump for his signature after passing it by 224-201 for the second time in two days after a procedural foul-up forced another vote. The Republican-led Senate had passed it 51-48 in the early hours of Wednesday.
Its passage sealed Trump’s first major legislative victory.
“We are making America great again,” the president said, echoing his campaign slogan at a White House celebration with Republican lawmakers. “Ultimately what does it mean? It means jobs, jobs, jobs, jobs.”
The bill slashes taxes for corporations and the wealthy while giving mixed, temporary tax relief to middle-class Americans.
Trump, who emphasized a tax cut for middle-class Americans during his 2016 campaign, said at an earlier Cabinet meeting that lowering the corporate tax rate to 21 percent from 35 percent was “probably the biggest factor in this plan.”
It was uncertain when the bill would be signed. White House economic adviser Gary Cohn said the timing depended on whether automatic spending cuts triggered by the legislation could be waived. If so, the president will sign it before the end of the year, he said.
The administration expects the waiver to be included in a spending resolution Congress will pass later this week, a White House official told reporters.
11159km
Source(s): Reuters