White House signals flexibility on tax bill as Congress gets to work

The Trump administration negotiated with congressional Republicans for nine months over a shared platform for an overhaul of the tax code. With Congress finally moving toward legislation, however, the White House last week signaled that it would be willing to accept big changes to get a bill passed as soon as possible.

The must-haves for the administration are that the bill cuts taxes for the middle class and includes a 20 percent corporate tax rate, top Trump economic adviser Gary Cohn said at a meeting of international bankers. Trump will be "very flexible on everything else, 'cause he knows the importance of getting tax reform done."

Ultimately, there may even be wiggle room on the corporate tax rate, which would still be below the average of advanced nations if it rose a percentage point or two from the 20 percent target.

"That is more them signaling a priority than a line in the sand," said Dean Zerbe, national managing director for Alliantgroup and a former tax counsel for the Senate Finance Committee.

Senate Republicans already individually have a significant amount of leverage over the final tax bill. President Trump can lose only two Republicans and pass legislation without Democratic votes, meaning that every senator likely could demand significant concessions.