Sep 26, 2017

GOP tax plan will skip details on how to pay for it

The GOP tax plan will likely punt the tough decisions for now. Photo: Alex Brandon/AP

The tax plan being presented to GOP members over the next couple of days — as soon as this afternoon to senators — isn't likely to include tough policy decisions about revenue raisers, multiple sources say. "All of the goodies and none of the vegetables," said one well-connected GOP lobbyist.

Between the lines: Although there's disagreement about how much individual and corporate tax rates should be lowered, almost every Republican is going to be happy with tax cuts and lower rates. The painful decisions come in when members are forced to decide about revenue-raising policies — for example, whether to eliminate or reduce the state and local tax deduction, which Bloomberg reported this morning is already hitting blue-state Republican resistance.

What to watch: The tax plan was expected to come up, but there is the possibility that Republican senators will spend the entire lunch talking about health care, delaying any tax discussion.

What to expect: Likely some general discussion about how to raise revenue, but nothing very specific.

Go deeper: Axios's Jonathan Swan reported this morning more details about what is expected to be in the plan.

Go deeper