Senate

Senate GOP releases new version of tax bill ahead of vote

by Naomi Jagoda - 12/01/17 10:18 PM ET

Senate GOP leaders late Friday offered a new version of their tax plan that incorporates a number of changes that lawmakers sought in order to support the bill.

The changes in the “substitute amendment” released by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) include an increase in the deduction for “pass-through” business income from 17.4 precent to 23 percent, which was requested by Sens. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) and Steve Daines (R-Mont.).

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It also includes priorities of Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), such as a deduction for property taxes up to $10,000. And it includes a change related to businesses’ ability to write off the costs of their capital investments that was requested by Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.).

These changes are paid for in several ways, including the restoration of the alternative minimum tax, which was initially repealed in the bill. Exemption amounts for the tax are increased compared to current law.

The new version of the bill, which stands at 479 pages, was panned by Democrats for being released close to the final vote, without much time to review. Democrats received a copy earlier in the day and noted that it includes some handwritten changes.

Democrats also criticized specific provisions that were added to the bill, such as one that they said would benefit Wall Street and another that they argued was targeted to exempt conservative Hillsdale College from an excise tax on university endowments.

Tags Jeff Flake Orrin Hatch Ron Johnson Steve Daines Susan Collins