White House wants to push tax overhaul without Democrats
WASHINGTON — A senior administration official said Thursday the White House plans to push its tax overhaul without any support from congressional Democrats.
It’s a sign of the intense partisanship over President Donald Trump’s outlines for cutting tax rates in hopes of stimulating faster economic growth, increasing business activity and helping the middle class. The proposal unveiled Wednesday would also repeal several taxes that target the wealthy but eliminate many deductions they use. Democratic lawmakers say the plan would favour the wealthy and blow a deep hole in the federal budget.
An independent estimate by the nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget estimates federal revenue would plunge $5.5 trillion over a decade under the Trump plan, likely causing the deficit to balloon. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has suggested faster economic growth of 3 per cent or more would replace the lost tax revenue, a position most budget experts dispute.
The administration official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity in order to discuss private deliberations, suggested Thursday that the White House might also find a way to work around a Senate rule that requires a 60-vote majority to pass bills that increase the deficit over the longer term. Under the rule, measures passed by a simple majority that increase the deficit expire in a 10-year window.