WASHINGTON – Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Sunday it’s “impossible” to guarantee the new GOP tax bill will give a tax cut to all middle class Americans, but said “most” should see relief next year.
Acknowledging negative polls about the sweeping plan GOP senators passed Saturday, McConnell remained upbeat Americans will like the final product.
“We’ll see how unpopular it is when people start noticing they’re paying less in taxes, the economy’s growing, there are more jobs and opportunity,” McConnell told CBS’ “Face the Nation.”
The tax plan will slash corporate rates from 35 to 20 percent, lower some individual rates and curb deductions.
But New York Republicans have blasted the plan for likely raising taxes on individuals in high-tax states by the elimination state tax deductions.
Asked if all middle class Americans will get a permanent tax break: McConnell said: “It’s impossible to do that.”
“You can’t craft any bill that would guarantee no one was in a special category that might get a tax increase,” he said. “What I can tell you is that every segment of taxpayers, every category of taxpayers on average gets significant relief.”
The House and Senate versions will have to be reconciled this week and approved again by both chambers.
Trump wants to sign a bill into law by Christmas.
“We’re not that far apart. Fundamentally, for the American public, we double the standard deduction, double the child tax credit, and lower the rates,” Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) told “Fox News Sunday.”
Republicans continued to say the tax bill will create so much economic growth it will bring in more revenue to the US Treasury than the bill’s $1.4 trillion pricetag.
But independent reports have found just the opposite.
The latest estimate from the Joint Committee on Taxation showed the tax plan would add $1 trillion to the deficit when counting for economic growth.
“I’m confident this is not only revenue neutral to the government, but actually it’s very likely to be a revenue producer,” McConnell maintained on ABC’s “This Week.”
Democrats had been furious about the way the bill was passed – at 2 a . m . Saturday – with many last – minute revisions. Montana Democratic Sen. Jon Tester posted a video that showed the final bill had illegible handwritten text in the margins.
But supporters said they knew the gist of the bill.
“I’m not going to say I read every single letter on every single page, because 470 pages, in this last hour, I did not read 470 pages,” Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), acknowledged on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “But have I read every aspect of that bill before it was fused together? The answer is yes.”
