WASHINGTON, Dec. 20 -- The U.S. Congress on Wednesday finally passed the Republican bill to overhaul the U.S. tax code over three decades, sending it to President Donald Trump's desk for signature, amid concerns that the change would widen income inequality and swell public debt.
The House on Wednesday voted 224-201 to approve the 1.5-trillion-U.S. dollar tax cuts package, which would impact nearly every part of the world's largest economy, affecting both large and small businesses, as well as families.
The House passed the tax bill Tuesday afternoon, but the Senate's parliamentarian found several provisions in the bill violated budget rules, forcing lawmakers to strip them out and requiring the House to vote again.
The Senate narrowly passed the revised bill Tuesday midnight with a vote of 51-48. Now the bill, without the support of a single Democrat in Congress, will be sent to Trump's desk for signature within days and to take effect in 2018.
"By cutting taxes and reforming the broken system, we are now pouring rocket fuel into the engine of our economy," Trump said Wednesday in a statement after the final congressional passage of the tax legislation.
The final tax bill, the sweeping rewrite of U.S. tax law since 1986, would cut the corporate income tax rate to 21 percent from the current 35 percent and create a 20-percent deduction for income of pass-through businesses such as limited liability companies.
It would keep the seven individual income tax brackets, while lowering the top individual income rate to 37 percent from the current 39.6 percent. Most of the tax cuts for individuals in the bill would expire in 2025.
Overhauling the tax code is a top priority for the Trump administration and congressional Republicans before next year's midterm elections. They insist that the broad tax cuts for corporations, small businesses and individuals will boost U.S. economic and job growth.
But Democrats have criticized that the Republican tax legislation would mostly benefit the wealthy and large corporations and increase U.S. budget deficit.
While the bill would reduce taxes on average for all income groups, the top one percent of households would receive the largest benefits, according to a new study by the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center published on Monday.
The study also found that the top one percent taxpayers would receive an average tax cut of 0.9 percent of after-tax income in 2027, while low- and middle-income taxpayers would see little change.
Economists have argued that the massive tax cuts to the wealthy would do little to boost economic growth but further widen U.S. income inequality.
"U.S. policymakers should be particularly concerned about the effects of any new tax legislation on the incomes of individuals and businesses because of rising income inequality in the United States and the relatively limited U.S. social safety net financed with government taxes," Jacob Funk Kirkegaard, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, wrote in a recent analysis.
While the Trump administration argued that the tax cuts would pay for themselves with faster economic growth, other analyses from independent think tanks and economists have found that the growth effects from tax cuts would be relatively small and U.S. budget deficit would inevitably increase.
The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB) said in a recent analysis that the tax legislation could cost about two trillion to 2.2 trillion U.S. dollars in the next decade, pushing up U.S. public debt to between 98 percent and 100 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) by 2027, compared with 91 percent under current law.
The Republican tax bill has grown more unpopular in the past two months and few people believe it will provide relief for middle-class families, according to an NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll released Tuesday.
Overall, 41 percent of Americans in the poll said the tax plan was a bad idea, up from 35 percent in October, while less than one-quarter of people said the bill was a good idea.
The poll, conducted Dec. 13-15, also found that more than two-thirds of respondents said the tax bill was designed mostly to help corporations and the wealthy.
体坛英语资讯:Georgian judo chief coach resigns over Olympic gold medalist being expelled from 2010 worlds
体坛英语资讯:Soderling, Davydenko reach second round at China Open
文明旅游 Travel Politely
体坛英语资讯:Cruzeiro beats Fluminense 1-0, assumes leadership
体坛英语资讯:Djokovic, Wozniacki capture titles in China Open
体坛英语资讯:Badminton world No. 1 Lee Chong Wei reaches semis at Comm Games
体坛英语资讯:Brazil beats Iran 3-0 in soccer friendly
体坛英语资讯:Spain coach Del Bosque: Dont rest on your laurels
体坛英语资讯:Brazil beats Ukraine 2-0 in soccer friendly
体坛英语资讯:Netherlands beat Moldova in Euro 2012 qualifier
体坛英语资讯:Guangzhou Asian Games flame lit at Great Wall
15种最棒的燃脂食物,越吃越瘦!赶快备起!
体坛英语资讯:Germany, Netherlands seal wins in Euro 2012 qualifying
体坛英语资讯:Barcelona beat Lakers in NBA European tour
体坛英语资讯:Olympic Park to be renamed after Queen Elizabeth in 2013
体坛英语资讯:Michael Ballack postpones comeback
体坛英语资讯:Serena Williams to back to tennis court next week
体坛英语资讯:China out after losing to France
体坛英语资讯:Womens 100m champion at Commonwealth Games fails doping test
体坛英语资讯:Over 100,000 people apply to be London 2012 volunteers
体坛英语资讯:Injuries affect Del Bosque plans
体坛英语资讯:Forlan refuses to rule out move
体坛英语资讯:Former NBA all-star Francis arrested
葡萄牙:列车延误只因晕倒乘客太多
体坛英语资讯:Australian Craig Lowndes, Mark Skaife win Bathurst 1000 V8 Supercar race
中国楼市犍牛可否继续疯跑
李克强总理在中国—葡语国家经贸合作论坛第五届部长级会议开幕式上的主旨演讲3
原来想做老师要付出这么多
体坛英语资讯:Nadal claims Japan Open tennis title
中国游客撑起安倍经济学
不限 |
英语教案 |
英语课件 |
英语试题 |
不限 |
不限 |
上册 |
下册 |
不限 |