Differences Remain Between Congress and White House on Tax Reform

For months, GOP leadership from both houses of Congress along with Treasury secretary Steve Mnuchin and NEC director Gary Cohn have huddled over Republican plans for tax reform, laying the groundwork for a plan each group could support.But that “Big Six” coalition has its limits, and Senate Republicans are cautioning that its proposal, which is set to be released next week, will be merely “advisory,” and that every senator in the Republican caucus will have the opportunity to push for changes in the bill.“Tax reform is always the hardest,” Senate Finance Chairman Orrin Hatch said Tuesday. “It’s more complex, more difficult, more chances that you’ll have people who differ on matters—a lot more ideas.”

Meanwhile, the very idea of a GOP Congress/White House coalition on tax reform looks increasingly dubious as President Donald Trump continues to act sympathetically toward Democratic proposals. Politico reported Tuesday that the White House was looking to make tax reform less generous to the wealthy and was considering shrinking the proposed corporate tax cut.

“I think they want to do a middle-class tax cut—at least that’s what most everybody has said,” Hatch said.