US senators have passed a comprehensive bill stated as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), which proved to be a momentous tax bill and a huge step towards Donald Trump’s first great legislative triumph.
The law would mark the biggest tax refurbishment in the country since the 1980s. Dominant over the Senate, Vice-President Mike Pence declared the 51-49 victory to applause from Republicans.
However, the final draft of the bill went through some changes during a marathon session in order to bring unwilling Republicans on board. Republicans have a 52-48 majority in the Senate. While on the other hand, Democrats protested that it only profited wealthy people and big businesses.
Under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, the corporate tax rate would be lowered from 35% to 20% permanently, while future overseas profits of US-based firms would be mainly exempted from tax.
The actions were passed despite the non-partisan Senate Joint Committee on Taxation warning on Thursday that the bill would add significantly to the federal deficit over a decade. The committee’s findings opposed a White House claim that solely the economic growth of the country would recompense for the tax cuts.
Most Americans across all income levels would see this tax relief until 2026 and the committee said after that families earning under $75,000 a year would probably face higher taxes.
President Trump praised the bill on Twitter saying that, “We are one step closer to delivering massive tax cuts for working families across America”.
Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader in the Senate, said the reforms in the taxation would “make America more competitive and keep jobs from being shipped offshore and provide substantial relief to the middle class”.
But Democrats ridiculed the bill as “a poor deal for the middle-class and poor Americans.”
After the vote, Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said that the Republicans would pay the price at the poll in mid-term elections next year
“My Republican friends will ultimately pay consequences for this bill in 2018 and beyond. The Republican party will never again be the party of tax cuts for middle-class people,” he warned. He said such measures would jeopardize social security and medical provision.
Independent Senator Bernie Sanders was among the most vocal opponents of the bill, declaring during the debate that the American treasury was “being looted” and that the country would lose its valuable capital and the hard-earned money of the people over such legislative actions.
But Republican Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell, who was successful in bringing rebellious party members into line, said the legislation would prove to be “just what the country needs to get growing again”.
He shrugged off all the criticism that it was pushed through without proper examination and people were not given enough time to go through the 500-page document, saying: “Everybody had plenty of opportunities to see the measure. You complain about the process when you’re losing and that’s what you heard on the floor tonight.”
