The U.S. Senate passed a sweeping tax cuts bill in a 51-49 vote, The Wall Street Journal reported.
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act would lower the corporate rate to 20% from 35%, overhaul international business tax rules and temporarily lower individual taxes. An analysis by the Joint Committee on Taxation concluded that the Senate bill would add an additional $1 trillion to the U.S. fiscal deficit over a 10-year window, even after taking into account the added economic growth Republicans project the tax reform would generate.
The Senate approved the bill after several last-minute changes, including large tax breaks for owners of small businesses and other companies that are not organized as traditional corporations, to bring on board Republican Sens. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin and Steve Daines of Montana. The bill also features a provision to allow taxpayers to deduct up to $10,000 in state and local property taxes paid and a medical expense deduction for lower-income individuals, another last-minute change that won the support of Sen. Susan Collins of Maine.
Sen. Bob Corker of Tennessee, the only Republican to join the Democrats in opposing the bill, raised concerns before the vote that the bill would increase the budget deficit. Democrats contend that it would only benefit corporations and the wealthy.
A House-Senate conference committee is now expected to be set up to reconcile the Senate bill with the House version before it can be sent to President Donald Trump. GOP leaders have vowed to accomplish that goal by the end of the year.
