NBC News: Senate Passes Republican-Backed Tax Bill Along Party Lines

In the early hours of Saturday morning, the Senate passed the GOP tax reform bill. According to an NBC News article, this legislation would bring the first overhaul of the U.S. tax code in 31 years.

The bill narrowly passed in a 51-49 vote along party lines, with just one Republican—Senator Bob Corker of Tennessee—voting against it. The small margin of victory for Republicans was not unexpected—the GOP’s tax reform plan has been highly debated. The legislation will cut corporate tax rates from 35 percent to 20 percent in 2019 while offering more modest cuts for families and individuals. It also gets rid of several deductions and the individual mandate, which is a key part of former President Obama’s health care law.

The White House is pushing to complete this tax overhaul before the holidays. In order to do that, the Senate bill needs to be reconciled with the House bill so that the same version is passed out of both chambers of Congress.

To read the original article, click here.