President Donald Trump plans to make what his staff members called a “closing argument” for tax-overhaul legislation Wednesday as congressional Republicans consider last-minute revisions to key provisions. Here are the latest developments, updated throughout the day:
- Cutting the top individual income tax rate to 37 percent, which would help address top earners’ complaints about losing certain tax deductions, but could also damage claims by Trump and others that the measure is mostly aimed at middle-class relief.
- Setting the corporate tax rate at 21 percent, instead of the 20 percent proposed in both the House and Senate bills. The current corporate rate, 35 percent, is the highest among industrialized economies. Trump had initially sought a 15 percent rate, then said he wouldn’t accept any rate higher than 20 percent. But earlier this month, he suggested he was open to a number as high as 22.
- Adopting the Senate’s general method of cutting tax rates for partnerships, limited liability companies and other so-called pass-through businesses, but revising the particulars. The Senate bill would create a 23 percent deduction for pass-through business income, but a potential compromise would cut that deduction to 20 percent. Combined with a lower individual income rate, the change would still provide roughly the same amount of relief for owners of the most lucrative pass-through businesses.
- Capping the mortgage-interest deduction at loans of $750,000 or less. The House bill proposed a cap of $500,000. The Senate bill left the current $1 million cap in place.
Negotiations remained fluid Tuesday night, and details were subject to change. Final compromises may emerge Wednesday ahead of a planned public meeting of a joint House and Senate conference committee that’s charged with preparing the final, compromise legislation.
“If everything works right,” the Senate would vote on the final package Monday, the House would vote Tuesday and Trump would sign the bill by Wednesday of next week, said House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy of California.