The House voted on Wednesday to approve a major tax overhaul and sent the legislation to President Donald Trump’s desk, who hailed it as the “largest” tax cut in history which would significantly boost the economy of the U.S.
House Republicans secured the needed votes to approve their overhaul of the tax code, passing the legislation by a 224-201 margin, CNBC reports.
“Today, Congress approved a once-in-a-generation tax reform bill. This is the end of a long journey to deliver major tax relief to the American people,” Speaker Paul Ryan said.
The plan will provide a major remake of the tax code, for the first time in over 30 years, permanently cutting tax rates for corporations and temporarily slashing them for some individuals.
“We broke every record. It’s the largest, I always say the most massive, but it’s the largest tax cut in the history of our country and reform. Something special,” President Trump said at a White House ceremony, praising the passage of the bill.
Early Wednesday the Senate approved the final version of the U.S. tax code overhaul in a party-line 51-48 vote, with some changes being made to the House bill passed a day earlier.
The tax bill represents a crucial legislative achievement of the president in his first year in office, although it was unclear precisely when Trump would sign the legislation into law.
However, according to a CNN poll, more than half of the Americans oppose the plan, and only 33 percent favor the Republican proposal to reform the tax code.
Both Trump and Speaker Ryan defended the bill, saying that it will bring new jobs and higher salaries.
“When (the bill) gets in place, when people see their paychecks getting bigger in February because withholding tables have adjusted to reflect their tax cuts, when businesses are keeping more of what they earn, when they can write off their spending and hire more people, that’s going to change its popularity, I am convinced,” Ryan said.
The Joint Committee on Taxation found that on average all income groups will see an 8% tax cut in 2019, with projections worsening over time. The JCT also found that by 2027 taxpayers earning up to $75,000 would receive a tax increase, stemming from the sunsetting individual rate cuts in the final GOP bill, along with the repeal of Obamacare’s individual mandate.
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